Never Leave Me
by Muraki Asato
Summary: What most people don't know is that the night before Sasuke left for Hidden Sound he slept with someone, Uzumaki Naruto to be exact. This is the story of their struggle, and Naruto's abrupt end of childhood. MPREG. Mentions of rape. Spoilers.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer**: First and only time I'm writing this cause its a pain. I don't own Naruto.

**Warnings**: Mpreg. Yaoi. There will be one original character just to confuse things in the future but, yea. Angst. Drama. Etc.

Enjoy!

**Prologue**

The night before Sasuke left for Hidden Sound, he slept with someone. Uzumaki Naruto, to be exact. But then, most people didn't know that.

The evening began with the usual training; after an agreed-upon tie, they headed back to the Uchiha mansion to clean up. Naruto borrowed some clothes, which were too big for him; with a belt, though, what did he care? After trying to watch a movie with the creepy-stalker-fan-girls outside, they moved to Naruto's apartment.

After a couple hours (which included a meal by Sasuke), they sat on the couch in the dark. Naruto was seemingly fast asleep, slumped against Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke was amazed how cute the blond looked while he was sleeping. Without realizing what he was doing, he leaned over and kissed the younger boy, causing him to stir from his sleep. There was no yelling or screaming, and neither of them stormed away. They just blinked at each other from their close proximity, and when a light blush tinted Naruto's cheekbones, Sasuke leaned in again.

Three hours later, Sasuke made sure Naruto was sound asleep before untangling himself from the sheets, dressing, and leaving quietly.

Naruto woke alone the next morning. Muttering about crazy dreams, he stood, blaming the pain in his lower back on training before wobbling to the shower.

* * *

A month passed. The mission to retain Sasuke failed. After recovering in the hospital, Naruto left for training with Jiraiya. Another month passed before Naruto awoke from a disturbing dream with the Kyuubi. He immediately shook Jiraiya awake.

"What is it, brat?" The white-haired man grumbled.

"What do you know about demon vessels?" Naruto asked.

"What?"

"What do you know about Kyuubi?"

Jiraiya sat up and turned to look at the blond boy. Naruto looked scared, nervous even, and he was sweating and fidgeting. The boy's head was bowed slightly, but his eyes were wide as he watched his fingers twiddle. He was sweating so much that his light blue cotton pajamas clung to him in places, like a second skin. "What's wrong?"

"I just had a dream. Kyuubi told me something."

"What did he say?"

Naruto hesitated, shifting on the edge of his bed uncomfortably. "He said that in the fox demon society, there are more males than females; therefore, some males are forced to mate with other males. Because of this, males have both male and female organs so that the 'uke' can reproduce."

"So?" Jiraiya watched him carefully. Why did the boy seem so nervous?

"He says that because I'm his vessel, similar rules apply to me."

"What does this have to do with anything right now?" Jiraiya asked cautiously. He had a feeling he knew where this was heading but hoped he was wrong.

"He says I'm two months along," Naruto muttered shyly.

"Pregnant?"

Naruto nodded.

"You're thirteen!" Jiraiya shouted.

Naruto whined and covered his head as if the other was going to hit him. "Don't you think I know that?"

Jiraiya sighed, patting the boy's head reassuringly. "We'll head back tomorrow and talk to Tsunade."

"OK," Naruto's timid voice replied.

"Get some sleep."

Naruto nodded, turning and crawling back into bed. Jiraiya watched the young blond pull back his covers a little further and slip between them, snuggling into his bed and clutching his pillow. The boy looked so young, even younger than his thirteen years. How could this young, naive, innocent little boy, this child, be having a child of his own?


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"It's true; you're pregnant, brat," Tsunade murmured, scowling at the blue-eyed boy.

Naruto sat up slowly, pulling his shirt back down over his stomach.

"What's wrong with you? You're thirteen," Tsunade scolded. She knelt in front of him and held his face in both hands. "You weren't attacked, were you?"

Naruto shook his head. "No." He sighed and looked into his lap. "I thought it was just some crazy dream," he whispered.

"You know who the father is?"

"Yes." He blinked at her. "You don't need to know, do you?"

She sighed, standing and putting her hands on her hips as she looked down at the boy.

"No. If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to."

"What should we do?" Jiraiya asked.

"He can't stay in the village. You two will go somewhere safe. As far as anyone knows, you're still out training. At the end of your eighth month I will send Shizune out to help with the birth. After that you may return when you'd like; we'll tell the village you found the child while training and adopted it. You can tell the truth to whom ever you want, whenever you want."

Naruto nodded.

After a few more hours in which Tsunade told them what to expect of the pregnancy, Tsunade kissed Naruto on the forehead and bid them goodbye.

* * *

For the birth, Naruto used his Sexy No Jutsu form.

"Stupid contractions!" Naruto screeched, nails digging into the mattress beneath her. She was dressed in an over-sized blue T-shirt, her legs propped up and spread open on the stirrups with a sheet draped over her bare legs to cover her private parts until she was ready to give birth.

"Your contractions are getting closer together. It's just about time," Shizune murmured, glancing at the clock. "Jiraiya, you're all bruised up."

"It's the brat's fault," he grumbled from the blonde's bedside.

"You called me fat, you old fart!" Enraged blue eyes glared viciously at the man with long white hair, causing him to flinch and back away a little.

"I did not."

"You called me a tan cow!" She screamed during a contraction.

"Jiraiya!" Shizune scolded.

"He was complaining! He called himself fat..."

"And you agreed!"

"I merely said that everyone gains a little weight with pregnancy! You have to, what with carrying another human being around inside you."

"So now you're saying my child is fat?! Good Lord, another one!"

"I'm not talking anymore." Jiraiya huffed.

Shizune stuck her head under the sheet before flipping it back to expose the blonde's birth canal. "You're fully dilated. Time to start pushing."

"CRAP!" Naruto growled out between clenched teeth.

"Push, Naruto!" Shizune urged.

Naruto screamed, one hand resting against the side of her enlarged stomach and the other crushing Jiraiya's hand.

"One big push should do it, Naruto! One more push and we're all done!"

"This hurts more than the sex did!"

The black-haired aid blushed as she pulled the baby free. "OK! You can relax," Shizune told him over the crying baby in her arms.

"I'd like to, but I don't think...I can't! I think there's another one!"

"Twins," Shizune murmured to herself, setting the first baby in the crib beside her. "OK Naruto, same as last time. Push!"

Naruto panted as Shizune moved away to clean the babies off.

"You OK brat?" Jiraiya asked after half an hour when he felt a light squeeze on his hand that was still held in the blonde's tanned one.

Naruto squeaked, squeezing his hand tighter. "No I'm Not! How many of them are there?!"

"What?" Jiraiya yelled. "Shizune! There's another one!"

The nurse rushed over, sitting herself back down on the stool between Naruto's legs. "You've already got the head out, one big push should do it, Naruto! One more push and we're all done!"

"That's what you said the first time!" The blond screeched, gritting her teeth and doing as Shizune said.

Shizune smiled at the baby in her arms, sighing happily as she saw Naruto's afterbirth.

"What was that?" Naruto panted.

"The afterbirth; it means you're all done, no more surprise babies." She grinned at the blond as Naruto turned back into a boy. She turned away to clean off the last baby.

"So what's the outcome?" Jiraiya asked, flexing his crushed hand and wincing.

"Two boys and a girl." Shizune picked up the first baby and handed him to Naruto. "Your first born son. Have you picked out any names?"

"I had Daisuke for a boy and Rin for a girl. This will be Daisuke." He smiled. The baby in his arms had pale skin, midnight fuzz on top of his head, and bright blue eyes that matched Naruto's own.

Shizune handed the second boy to him, nestling him in the crook of his other arm. This one had tanned skin like Naruto's own, as well as golden-blond fuzz on his head. Dark onyx eyes gazed upon his father and brother with mischief.

The little girl was laid against his propped up legs. She was a mix between her two brothers. Her black hair seemed highlighted with streaks of gold, her skin was peach, and her eyes were a deep, dark blue color.

"Naruto..." Jiraiya began, looking suspiciously at the three babies.

"Yeah?" Naruto didn't look up at him, still smiling at the three newborns. Daisuke was watching him curiously, his brother was blowing spit bubbles with a grin, and Rin was beginning to doze off where she lay.

"These kids... Their father is an Uchiha, isn't he?"

Shizune blinked owlishly, glancing at the newborns cryptically before her eyes lit up as if she suddenly saw it too.

"The night before he left," Naruto murmured. "When I woke up alone the next morning I thought it was some crazy dream. I didn't think anything of it until Kyuubi told me I was pregnant."

"You're thirteen, what were you two thinking?" Shizune murmured quietly.

"It just sort of happened. We had a normal day. After training we went to his house, then we moved to mine because of the fan-girls. I fell asleep on the couch and I thought everything after that was a dream and that Sasuke just moved me to my bed before he left. He's done it before."

"So what are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to train, and when I get back, we'll go after Sasuke again."

"Are you going to tell him about the kids?" Jiraiya asked.

"No. He learns about Daisuke, Ginji, and Rin after he returns to the village."

"Just rest for at least four months before you start training," Shizune advised.

"OK, and you can tell baa-chan about Sasuke when you get back," Naruto told her.

Shizune whipped out a camera from nowhere. "I promised Tsunade-sama I would take pictures."

"All right." Naruto chuckled. "And I want Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei to know. Could you ask her to talk to them for me?"

"Of course." She smiled, snapping a couple more pictures.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Iruka-sensei...can't...breathe..." Naruto murmured. They'd returned to the village after three years of training, only to have Naruto smothered by his ex-academy teacher.

"Sixteen! You've gotten so big!" Iruka cooed.

"He's shrunk, in my opinion." Kakashi grinned beneath his mask.

"If I...could...breathe...I'd...KILL...you..." Naruto muttered darkly.

"Iruka-sensei, these kids are cute! Why don't you leave Naruto alone and come check them out?"

"Yeah, before they wake and turn into little devils," Jiraiya grumbled.

The three three-year-olds were fast asleep on the couch in Tsunade's office, cuddled up together with Rin in the middle.

Iruka moved away from the blond to stand beside Kakashi and coo over the three children.

An hour later they were joined by Sakura and Sai. Sakura cooed and squealed over the triplets, inevitably waking them.

"Girl, you have no idea what you've done," Jiraiya muttered.

Daisuke seemingly disappeared in the moment they had all turned to look at Sakura, as well as Ginji. Rin sat by herself, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, her shoulder length hair curling at the ends and tickling the base of her neck. She wore a silk, dark purple kimono with a light blue obi that was embroidered with flowers.

"Rin won't go anywhere and Daisuke won't really cause trouble; he probably just followed Ginji to keep an eye on him. Ginji is the troublemaker." Naruto announced.

"Um...the door is open." Sai smiled.

"Let's spread out. They couldn't have left the tower," Sakura murmured.

"No need," Naruto told her, lifting Rin into his arms. "Rin-chan, do you know where Ginji went?"

She shook her head, burying her face in Naruto's shoulder, away from the group of strangers.

"Well, was he hungry?"

Rin nodded. "He said he wanted ramen."

"He sounds like your kid, Naruto," Sakura chuckled.

"Nah, Ginji just likes salty food. Daisuke favors sweets, Rin favors ramen, and Ginji just likes anything salty or sour," he explained.

"I see."

"I'm hungry too, mommy," Rin whispered.

"She calls you 'mommy'?" Sai grinned.

Naruto glared angrily over his shoulder at the black haired boy. "And your point is?"

Sai opened his mouth to speak but stopped at a kick in the ankle. He turned and looked down at Ginji. The blond boy was dressed in a red T-shirt and black shorts. Again, he kicked Sai before pointing up at him. "You look like one of the women Jiraiya-Ero-Sennin calls a skank."

Sai frowned as Naruto and Sakura burst out laughing.

Daisuke stood beside his younger brother. He wore black pants and a navy colored shirt.

"Well, you can stay with me for now, Naruto. Lets get you settled in."

Naruto grinned. "OK!"

Sakura grabbed the sleeve of his white T-shirt and grinned at him. "We've got our first mission to go after Sasuke next week. You think you'll be up for it?"

"Of course."


	4. Chapter 3

******_Spoilers!_**

_**R&R Please!**_

******

* * *

**

******Chapter 3**

Naruto stoked the fire as Sakura sat beside him. It was nighttime; the sun had fallen an hour ago. Yamato and Sai were off finding supplies while Sakura and Naruto had stayed behind to set up the tents and start a fire.

"Naruto, those kids. They're yours, aren't they?" Sakura murmured.

Naruto stopped poking the fire to sit back and look at her.

"What I mean is, you didn't adopt them; they're yours, your blood runs through their veins."

Naruto blinked.

"The resemblance is obvious. Daisuke has your eyes and Ginji is like your clone. Rin has the same chubby little cheeks you had when you were little, and she has the faintest etching of whisker scars on her cheeks too, just barely noticeable."

"Yeah, they're mine."

Sakura whacked him on the back of the head. "What's the matter with you? A father at thirteen..." She whacked him again for good measure.

"Sakura-chan!"

"So who's their mother?"

"I am. It's complicated, and you'll kill me if I tell you everything."

"We're friends, Naruto. I'll understand." She smiled at him sincerely.

The blond sighed before telling her about what the Kyuubi had told him about his pregnancy, as she already knew about him being the fox's vessel.

"So, you're gay?"

"I'm bisexual," he muttered crossly, puffing up his cheeks.

"And the kids' father is?"

"Never mind." Naruto shook his head.

Sakura was silent for several minutes. "It's Sasuke, isn't it?" she asked, a finger tapping her lips thoughtfully.

Naruto looked over at her, eyes widening.

"Again, the resemblance is obvious." She grinned. Seeing his panicked look, she waved her hand in the air. "Relax, I resigned myself years ago. Sasuke-kun is never going to like me, no matter what. So now, I'm not trying to bring him back for that reason. I'm doing it because he's my friend and my teammate."

Naruto nodded in agreement and understanding.

"Besides, he would have stayed if I meant anything to him."

"Yeah, he would have stayed if he had any reason to," the boy murmured forlornly.

"Do you love him?" She smiled gently at him, her eyes soft and understanding.

"I don't know." He sighed. "It was just a one-night stand and I thought it was just a dream until Kyuubi told me I was pregnant. But he never said a word, he didn't leave me a note, and he didn't even say goodbye. Like you just said, if I meant anything to him, he would have, should have stayed."

Sakura scooted closer and wrapped her arms around the blue-eyed teen, pulling his head to rest under her chin, as he looked as if he was going to cry. "Are you going to tell him about the triplets?"

"Only when he comes back to us willingly." He sniffled. "I'm scared."

"Everything will work out. I once heard someone say, 'It's not over until there's a happy ending'."

"Yea. I just want everything to work out." Naruto sighed, hugging her back. "I want all the bad people like Orochimaru and Itachi dead, and I want everything back the way it was. Oh God, Itachi."

"What about him?"

"He killed his clan to make Sasuke miserable, and he's still after me. What happens when he finds out about the triplets?"

"Nothing! We won't let him touch any of you," Sakura assured, hugging him closer.

"Sakura-chan, promise me something."

"What?"

"If anything ever does happen to me, make sure the triplets are safe, and keep Sasuke as your first priority, even if you're looking for me on the side."

"Naruto, don't say things like that!"

He clutched her shoulders and looked her squarely in the eyes. "Promise me! I want you to keep looking for him, keep trying to get him to return to the village."

"I promise. I promise I will."

He kissed her cheek and smiled. "Thank you."

"We're back!" Sai chirped happily, smiling as he and Yamato entered the campsite.

* * *

"Let's go," Orochimaru announced as he released Sasuke's wrist.

Sasuke and Naruto stared at each other wordlessly before the Uchiha disappeared with Orochimaru and Kabuto in a fire-like cloud of smoke. Naruto frowned, bowing his head, and resisting the urge to cry.

"Naruto," Sakura murmured.

"Let's go home," Yamato said as he glanced at the blond.

Naruto stood on wobbly legs, stiffening slightly as Sakura threw one of his arms over her shoulders. She smiled weakly up at him. "Lets get back soon. I'm sure the triplets miss you."

His nose twitched, repressing an unknown expression or action. "Yeah. I miss them too," he rasped, voice thick.

Sai watched them as he stood and dusted off his clothes, his mind racing as he clapped his hands together. Despite Naruto's plans to tell the Uchiha about his kids after he returned to the village, would it be such a bad idea to tell him beforehand? Perhaps Sasuke would rethink his actions and stop hurting the poor blond. But, then again, Sai could understand why Naruto wanted to wait, what with being a fellow orphan. Sasuke shouldn't feel obligated to his own children.

"Sai, are you coming?" Sakura called.

Sai shook his head of his thoughts and followed as the other three climbed their way out of the crater.

* * *

**_That nose twitch thing Naruto does, I do that. My sister pointed it out once. Apparently I do it a lot._**


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"I'm going to train with Kakashi-sensei for a while, could you help Iruka-sensei with the triplets? Maybe you could find some other people to help you out as well."

Sakura nodded, forcing a weak smile on her face. Even though it was obviously strained and didn't reach her eyes at all, Naruto simply nodded in thanks before turning away.

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, Sakura turned to see Sai's smiling visage. "He wants Sasuke back pretty bad, huh?"

"Yea."

"Sakura, I know what you're thinking, I thought about it too, but you can't tell Sasuke about the triplets." Sai told her, his expression oddly understanding.

She blinked up at him.

"Even if they are his kids and one of his goals was to further his clan, he has no right to know unless Naruto wants him to. Sasuke shouldn't feel obligated to take care of those kids; they deserve real love, not obligation. Naruto deserves the same." His lips quirked slightly, but he wasn't smiling. His hand slipped from her shoulder as she turned to face him.

"How…?" She shook her head lightly in slight disbelief, pink strands falling into her eyes.

"I figured it out the same way you did. Those kids share uncanny resemblance's to both of them." He grinned. "That and I heard you're conversation with Naruto in the woods."

She scowled at him, angry at his admission to eavesdropping, but didn't hit him for it like she usually would have. "I understand. I'm just worried about him."

"So is everyone else."

* * *

"You need to rest, and spend some time with those kids." Kakashi complained. "Go home. We'll pick up tomorrow afternoon."

Naruto sighed in defeat, dragging his feet as he turned away, knowing he couldn't fight the lazy jounin on his decision.

Iruka greeted him happily as he stepped in the door. The second he collapsed on the couch he was pounced on by three three-year-olds. He watched a little TV with them while Iruka cooked dinner, telling them about his training as they asked curious little kid questions. Ginji was wowing at every little thing, Daisuke showing the faintest smirk of interest, reminding Naruto painfully of Sasuke, but he didn't show it.

The five of them ate dinner, watching a little more TV before Naruto tucked them each into bed.

"Mommy, when are you going to finish training?" Ginji asked suddenly as Naruto was tucking the sheets in around them.

"I don't know, it may be a while." The older blond answered truthfully.

"What about daddy?" Rin chirped quietly, she was looking at the picture on the nightstand, Naruto's copy of the team seven picture. "When is he coming home?"

"It seems almost impossible, but I'll do everything I can. I'm not stopping until he comes home." He promised, kissing each of them on the forehead. "Get some sleep you three. Sweet dreams." Naruto quietly murmured as he turned off the lights and shut the door quietly behind him.

Leaning against the door he swallowed the lump in his throat several times, hand over his mouth and nose to further try to suppress the threatening tears as they welled dangerously in his eyes. Holding them back, he hastily wiped his eyes and hurried to say goodnight to Iruka.

"I'm going to bed Iruka-sensei."

Iruka was sitting at the desk in his room, grading papers from his students' recent test. "All right, goodnight Naruto." He smiled over his shoulder at the younger boy.

"I'm not going training until the afternoon so I can take care of the triplets while you're at the academy."

"OK, good."

"Night."

"Goodnight." Iruka said again, turning back to his paperwork.

Naruto closed Iruka's bedroom door behind him as he left toward his own room. After changing into some sleeping clothes and getting comfortable in the sheets Naruto cried himself to sleep.

* * *

Extra weight on the bed stirred him from his sleep, but the hand over his mouth woke him. Naruto's eye's snapped open, landing instantly on a man with long blond hair and dressed in an Akatsuki cloak. A quick glance at the open window showed Itachi and exactly how they'd gotten inside.

"Be quiet, yeah?" The blond murmured. "Come with us quietly and willingly like a good little boy, yeah?"

Naruto pushed his hand away, sitting up with a scowl. "Why the fuck should I?" He hissed quietly.

"There are other chakra signatures in this house, three of the four are children." Itachi muttered from the windowsill.

Naruto gritted his teeth, throwing his blankets up and over the blonde's head. "Fine, let me get dressed."

"That was rude, yeah." Deidara's muffled voice came from beneath the thick comforter.

Naruto jerked away from his dresser suddenly, turning his slit-ed blue eyes to glare at Itachi. "You hurt anyone…" He growled.

"Come willingly and we won't have to." Itachi murmured in a monotone.

Naruto glared at him threateningly for a few still minutes before turning back to his dresser.

Deidara finally escaped from the comforter, throwing it back on the bed with an irritated huff.

"I'm coming with you, so will you give me a minute?"

"What are you going to do?" Itachi asked.

"I want to check on the kids that are staying here, make sure you two didn't wake them or anything."

"Two minutes."

Naruto nodded hastily, quickly but quietly slipping out of the room and down the hall. He smirked to himself as he silently pushed the door open and saw Daisuke blinking at him sleepily. A few quick strides and he was beside the bed. He bent over and kissed the blue-eyed boy's forehead. "Go back to sleep, I'm just checking on you."

Instantly Daisuke's eyes drooped as if the words were a sleeping spell.

"Remember the name 'Akatsuki' when you wake." He whispered.

Daisuke nodded weakly before he went limp in sleep.

Naruto quickly kissed each of their foreheads before leaving, closing the door quietly behind him. He returned hastily to his own room, throwing on a pair of pants and grabbing his orange and black sweatshirt from the closet. "I'm ready." He muttered reluctantly.

Itachi stepped out of the room via the window, Naruto followed and Deidara after him.

* * *

"He's gone and Akatsuki has him. Things can't get worse." Tsunade muttered, rubbing her temple.

"Tsunade-sama, while you send out ANBU to look for Akatsuki headquarters please allow us to keep looking for Sasuke-kun. If the rest of my team wishes to quit and look for Naruto instead, I will go on my own if I have to. I will help you look for Naruto, but Sasuke-kun is my first priority." Sakura announced. She stood before Tsunade's desk, hands folded behind her back, standing like a soldier awaiting orders.

"You must be joking." Tsunade huffed. "Naruto is in the clutches of the Akatsuki, the same group who nearly took Kazekage-sama's life, and you still want to look for that Uchiha brat?"

"Yea Sakura, what's wrong with you, isn't Naruto you're friend?" Kiba snarled, Akamaru yipping in agreement.

"Sakura-san, I don't understand, I thought you cared about Naruto-kun." Lee murmured distractedly.

"You can't still be hung up on Sasuke-kun, forehead girl, that's pathetic. Plus, you're more likely to get Naruto back first anyway." Ino huffed, moving to stand beside the pink haired girl.

"Stop it, all of you." Sai spoke up, his face blank. He stepped up behind Sakura and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Heavy tears streamed silently down her face and she clenched her fists at her sides. "I am worried about Naruto. I am possibly more worried than any of you. Uzumaki Naruto is not just my teammate, he's my friend, my confidant, and I care for him deeply. I want to be there when you find him, I want to be there every step of the way, but Naruto made me promise! I promised him that if anything happened to him, no matter what, I would keep looking for Sasuke-kun, that he would remain my first priority. Naruto wants Sasuke back more than anyone in this village and he will stop at nothing to get him back in Konoha, even if he isn't the one to do it. I will get Sasuke-kun back, and I will do it in enough time to get Naruto back too, before anything bad happens to him." She sniffled, lifting her arms to wipe at her face; gratefully taking the hanky Sai offered and the hug Ino pulled her into.

"I will take Naruto's place in Sasuke's rescue team." Ino announced, holding Sakura closer as the girl sniffled a 'thank you'.

"So will I." Shikamaru nodded, seeming reluctant but sounding confident in his decision.

"I know Orochimaru and the curse seal, I'll do what I can to help. It wouldn't hurt to have an extra jounin." Anko smirked, hands on her hips.

"There's one thing I'm not clear on, how do we know Akatsuki is the one who has Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"That's easy." Jiraiya muttered from where he stood beside Tsunade. "There wasn't a struggle, so we're assuming Akatsuki threatened the lives of the other people in the house. Somehow, Naruto convinced them to let him go into the triplet's room. Of the triplets Daisuke has the best memory, he remembers everything, even if he's half-asleep when something is said to him. Naruto told him to remember the name 'Akatsuki' just before he fell back to sleep. He told a frantic Iruka when he woke this morning, and Iruka told Tsunade."

"I see."

"I'm going to send out ANBU to search for Akatsuki headquarters or at least anywhere we might be able to find them. In the meantime, I want all of you to rest for the impending fight with the Akatsuki, unless you are going to help team Kakashi retrieve Uchiha Sasuke. I don't want anyone to waste time. Who knows how long we have to find Naruto, and soon Sasuke will loose his body to Orochimaru. We are short on time, I want all of us to treat these issues as if you run out of time in a week, which is the next full moon, understood?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama." The room chorused.

* * *

**I love making fun of Deidara's speech! LOL.**


	6. Chapter 5

_:::waves white flag::: I am so sorry I took so long to update! My computer decided it didn't like this story (as well as a couple others) and it wiped the disk I had them saved on clean so I had to re-write EVERYTHING._

_This chapter had a lot of scene jumps in it, which I didn't realize until I went to post._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or it's characters, only the triplets._

_MAJOR SPOILERS! If you're not up to date (mostly) on Naruto then you may experience confusion. _

_You Have Been Warned!_

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Chapter 5**

"Any leads?"

"Itachi and the rest of the Akatsuki cover their tracks well." Karin sighed and placed a hand on her protruding hip. "They bounce all over the map."

"I didn't get much out of that bounty collector." Suigetsu murmured before chugging his bottle of water.

"Juugo?"

"The animals gave me information similar to Karin's. There is one spot though; the birds say they don't like the chakra emanating from a place in Hidden Rain." The tall reddish-brown haired man muttered, looking as if he was actually talking to the three birds perched on his arm. He glanced up at their leader over the empty fire-pit, watching his reaction carefully.

After a moments' pause to absorb the information Sasuke glanced up and around at his companions. "We'll head toward Rain in the morning. Karin, Juugo, scout the area. Suigetsu, gather firewood while I look for food." He stood and left, expecting the other three to do as they were told.

* * *

"This is where you last encountered Sasuke and Orochimaru?" Anko kicked a chunk of debris out of her way, glancing around the crater with calculating eyes.

"Sasuke did this?" Ino chirped.

"I disturbed his beauty rest." Sai smiled at the blonde girl.

Shikamaru huffed at the joke and headed down the hallway leading into the crater.

"Watch out for snakes!" Anko called after the lazy genius.

"We should at least stay in groups of two." Ino explained quickly before hurrying after her teammate.

"Do you really think there will be a clue to their location here?" Sakura asked. She paused to stare at the ground; a dried bloodstain marred the tanned earth. It was Yamato's blood from when Sasuke stabbed him in the shoulder. Her mind flashed to the look of pain on Naruto's face when Sasuke disappeared with Orochimaru and Kabuto. Naruto.

Kakashi watched the pink haired girl. "Sakura, are you sure you can do this?"

"For Naruto I will." Her fists tightened and her eyes hardened. "I may end up punching Sasuke at least once though." She threw a fleeting smile at the masked man before running off down the hall as well.

Sai hurried after her.

"I'd say she loves him." Anko smirked.

"Sakura loves Naruto like a brother. Naruto loves Sasuke." Kakashi explained with a heavy sigh.

"Can you love someone that constantly breaks your heart on purpose?"

The copy-nin looked up at the purple-clad woman, bewildered at her insight and the oddly serious look on the rambunctious woman's face. "Naruto is the most surprising ninja." Kakashi shrugged.

Anko sighed loudly, crossing her arms. "You really don't know women, Kakashi."

Kakashi shuffled around the crater, quirking an eyebrow at the statement. "What do you mean?"

"You really think Sakura just sees him as a brother?"

Kakashi opened his mouth to respond when the four teenagers came rushing back.

"Shikamaru found something!" Ino cheered excitedly.

"It's a map of Orochimaru's hideouts."

Anko clapped the pineapple-haired boy on the back with a grin. "Open it up, let's see."

They all crowded around as Shikamaru opened the scroll.

"There are a lot." Sakura huffed moodily.

"Two of you hold it out against that wall." Anko ordered, pointing at a crater wall.

Shikamaru and Sai did so, looking slightly confused.

Anko whipped out a kunai and threw it at the map. "Ladies and gentleman, our next destination!"

* * *

"So Sasuke, what do you plan to do after you've killed Itachi?" Karin asked as she fluttered her eyelashes at him a bit.

"Can we take a break?" Suigetsu grumbled from his spot beside Juugo.

Juugo glanced down at him, but he was otherwise ignored.

"I supposed I'll stick with my original plan of restoring the Uchiha clan." Sasuke mumbled reluctantly to try and placate the girl.

"Do you plan to return to the Leaf?" Suigetsu asked.

There was a moment of silence. Karin smiled charmingly at the Uchiha while the other two males watched his back critically, waiting for an answer.

"No."

* * *

"We'll split into teams of two and fan out, look for clues." Anko announced. "Shikamaru and Ino, Sakura and Sai, and Kakashi is with me."

Anko dragged Kakashi off in one direction while Shikamaru took the lead in another.

"Let's go this way." Sakura gave Sai a curt nod and turned down the last corridor.

An hour into their search Sakura and Sai paused as they turned down a corridor. There was an open doorway with blood spattered in the threshold.

They stepped into the room and with one look Sakura let out a scream.

* * *

As soon as Naruto was aware his arms were bound he jerked awake. His arms were chained to the wall in the corner of a dank, dark cell. He lay on an old mattress that seemed worn and slightly damp. He shifted, trying to get comfortable.

"I see you're awake, Naruto-kun."

Naruto squinted into the darkness at the shadow that was talking to him.

"Why am I still alive? Kyuubi is still here."

"It would seem the Fourth Hokage's seal is much more complex than we'd first thought. It is impossible to extract Kyuubi from your body without killing both of you."

"Guess what we discovered about your body, Naruto-kun." Itachi's voice drawled from the foot of the mattress.

Naruto shivered. They knew.

"The right combination of genes could do for a very powerful Shinobi in the future." The other voice added. Naruto could practically see the smirking faces leering down at him, and he shuddered.

* * *

"What happened?" Kakashi asked. All four had turned and raced towards Sakura's scream.

The green eyed girl was pressed against the wall, her eyes tightly shut as she eased her own breathing. She lifted a shaky hand and pointed into the room where Sai stood.

Anko stepped in first. "Orochimaru…" She gasped.

"That thing is Orochimaru?" Shikamaru asked.

Ino tried to help her friend calm down as she listened to Anko and the boys talk.

"This is Orochimaru's true form." Anko explained, kicking the head of the beast rather roughly. "Whoever did this must have unnerved Orochimaru with his strength to have forced him into his true form."

"What does this mean? Where is Sasuke?" Ino asked.

"Not here." Anko shrugged.

"He listened." Sakura whispered with a faintly happy smile on her face.

Ino rubbed her friend's shoulders. "Sakura?"

"Sasuke. He listened to Naruto."

* * *

Iruka stood at the sink, washing the dishes obsessively to rid his mind of worry, which wasn't working. There was a sharp tug on his pants leg and he glanced down to see Rin looking up at him with large doe-eyes. He dried off his hands quickly and picked the young girl up. "What's wrong, Rin-chan?"

"Where is mommy?"

"Mommy is on a very important mission." Iruka smiled at the girl.

"Is he looking for daddy?"

Iruka wandered into the living room to see Daisuke and Ginji rolling around on the floor. "Aunt Sakura and Uncle Kakashi are looking for your daddy. Mommy was sent on a different mission that only he could take care of."

"Not 'Uncle' Kakashi! Kakashi-jii-san!" Ginji exclaimed, climbing off his brother who had given up pretending to fight him.

"Jii-san?" Iruka asked, perplexed.

"Only jii-sans have grey hair. He must use a genjutsu like Tsunade-baa-sama." Ginji squinted his eyes in thought.

Iruka chuckled.

"Will mommy be home soon?" Rin asked.

"I don't know how long the mission will last, but mommy will be home."

* * *

_Jii-san- old man / gramps_

_Read and Review, Onegai!_

_For those of you up-to-date on the manga, don't yell at me! I know Itachi is OOC! I started writing this with Bad-Guy-Itachi in mind, I'm not changing it._


	7. Chapter 6

_People complained about this story being a bit too script-like, I was also told people wanted to know more about the triplets, so heres a chapter to make everyone happy._

_Also, there is a poll in my profile that will determine the next chapter so please go vote! ~Thanx~_

_Also, can anyone tell me Shizune's pig's name? It's been driving me nuts that I can't remember..._

_Normal disclaimer and **SPOILERS**_

**

* * *

Chapter 6**

Tsunade sighed happily, leaning back in her chair and stretching a bit. She had worked hard to finish up the paperwork on her desk. "Shizune!" She called.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune poked her head in the door, her pet piglet clutched to her chest.

"I'm going out for a bit." The blonde woman announced. She stood from her desk and made a show of stretching her legs and back, she may have looked young but her body certainly didn't agree with that; then again, if anyone was to sit in a chair for days on end their body would protest too.

Shizune smiled knowingly. "You're going to see the triplets, aren't you?"

"I'd like to get to know them better. Could you take care of things here for a couple hours?" Tsunade cocked her head in a curious-cute sort of way; Shizune decided that the older woman had picked up the habit from her 'little brother'.

"Sure Tsunade-sama. Would you like to take the camera with you?" The darker haired woman pulled a camera from her pocket as if she'd seen this coming.

Tsunade nodded as she took the compact device from her assistant, she slipped it into an inside pocket of her green jacket and headed out of the tower towards the home of Umino Iruka.

It had been a while since she had walked through Konoha, even the somewhat short distance between the tower and someone's home, though she usually went to visit Naruto, if anyone. The town was buzzing quietly, people would pause to either greet her or to stare like she was some God that had momentarily stepped out of her throne room. She smiled at them all, returning greetings here and there.

As she reached Iruka's quaint house she could hear children screaming and laughing, as well as Iruka's firm voice scolding someone for jumping on the couch. She smiled fondly and knocked on the door, three strong knocks that would have overpowered any doorbell.

As the door creaked open she looked at her eye-level, expecting to see a slightly frazzled Iruka, she saw nothing. Glancing down, the dark haired Daisuke was looking up at her with an angry pout on his face. "Hello Daisuke, do you remember me?" She'd only met them briefly so she wasn't sure that they'd remember.

"Yes, Tsunade-baa-sama." Daisuke answered bored-ly.

"H-Hokage-sama!" Iruka appeared behind Daisuke and opened the door further for the older woman to enter, Ginji tucked under his arm almost like a book. The blond boy giggled and waved at the village leader.

"Sorry to intrude. I wondered if I could spend some time here and get to know the little brats?"

"Of course, Hokage-sama, I could actually use the help." Iruka paused and looked back at the kitchen. Tsunade could smell something cooking. "I just started cooking; I should have plenty if you'd like to join us."

"Thank you." Tsunade nodded and closed the front door behind her.

Iruka's living room was cozy; there was a couch, a loveseat, and a recliner for company to sit in, as well as a TV. There were pictures on the walls, several held pictures of Naruto, but a lot were random academy students from over the years. There was even a picture of what looked like a younger Iruka with his Genin team. Tsunade focused on the pictures with Naruto in them; a couple of them were just Naruto but most were Naruto with friends.

She paused on one picture; it was the only one of Sasuke and Naruto, just the two of them, and it seemed the only picture that had Sasuke, except the class photo on another wall. Sasuke had the faintest smile on his face as he stood with one of Naruto's arms slung over his shoulder, his own arms crossed over his chest, Naruto was grinning widely at the camera, his free hand giving the camera a peace sign. Unfortunately, there were two extra arms in the picture giving the two boys bunny ears; it looked like Kakashi's arm behind Sasuke's head, and Sakura's behind Naruto's. She smiled at the picture.

"That's mommy and daddy." Ginji pointed to the picture she was looking at, grinning at her like his 'mother'. "Iruka-sensei says mommy is on a mission, and mommy says daddy left to find Uncle Weasel-girl."

Tsunade's face was blank for a moment before she burst into laughter at hearing the boy call Itachi 'Uncle Weasel-girl' so seriously.

Ginji waited while she calmed herself down, wiping lightly at her eyes, before he tugged on her jacket for attention. "Tsunade-baa-sama, do you know how long mommy's mission is?"

Tsunade crouched down to somewhat eye-level and petted the boy's sunshine hair a bit. "Your mommy will be home soon, hopefully within the next week or so, OK? You know he's strong."

"Of course!" Ginji chirped, punching the air a bit. "Mommy is the strongest ninja in the world!"

Tsunade chuckled a bit before standing to deposit herself on the couch. "So tell me about yourselves, I want to know you better."

She watched in amusement as Ginji clumsily climbed onto the couch on her right while his brother left the room. She watched in interest as Daisuke left the room and returned diligently with a small foot stool. He placed it in front of the couch to her left and helped Rin up first before moving to sit beside her himself.

Ginji's small hand grabbed her larger one and shook it for her attention; he smiled brightly when she turned to face him. "I like spicy and sour foods, like the bar-be-que wings at Chouji-san's place. My favorite color is red and I like to draw like the skank-man, but I use more colors. Mommy yells when I fight with Daisuke-ahou, but I can't help it, he's stupid." At this he leaned forward to stick his tongue out at his brother. Tsunade smiled when he forced himself to sound out the word 'barbeque' slowly.

"I like sweets, my favorite is dark chocolate and caramel." Daisuke began without prompting, causing Tsunade to shift her focus suddenly. "My favorite color is not blue, it's navy, yes there's a difference." Daisuke scowled at her as if she'd object. "I like mommy's mission stories so I can't wait to start training and learning ninja techniques."

"Me too!" Ginji added enthusiastically. "And Rin-chan is going to be Hokage and Daisuke-ahou and I are going to be her personal guards, right?"

Daisuke and Rin both nodded in agreement. Tsunade smiled.

"You know your mommy is going to be the next Hokage, right?"

"Rin-chan will become Hokage after Konohamaru-nii, who will be Hokage after mommy." Daisuke stated as if it was already written in history.

"I see." Tsunade nodded. "What about you, Rin-chan?"

"I like ramen, seafood is my favorite." Rin's voice was soft as she spoke, Tsunade was sure it was natural and not just the girl's obvious shyness. "My favorite color is purple, and I like to read."

As the three three-year-olds discussed their future together Tsunade looked them over carefully.

Daisuke wore a navy T-shirt and charcoal colored pants. He had blue eyes and his black hair was flat, a little lengthy; Tsunade wasn't sure if it came from Naruto's mother or maybe partly Sasuke. Don't ask how, but Tsunade knew for a fact that Sasuke's hair stuck up in back like that naturally. She honestly felt bad for the boy; the entire back of his head was like one stubborn cowlick.

Ginji wore a red sleeveless shirt with an orange swirl on the front and back and black shorts. He had black eyes like his father. His blond hair was spiky like his 'mother's', and just like his 'mother', it didn't look like he ever bothered to brush it.

Rin wore a lavender colored sundress. She had dark blue eyes that seemed a perfect mix of her parents' eye colors. Her shoulder length hair was silky smooth with a little wave to it; Tsunade knew it was a combination of Sasuke's mother, Mikoto, and Naruto's mother, Kushina.

"Dinner is ready!" Iruka called.

Rin and Daisuke used the step stool to get down again; Daisuke picked it up and headed towards the bathroom, Rin following behind. Ginji jumped off the couch, stumbling a bit upon landing, before he rushed to follow his siblings. Tsunade washed her hands in the sink in the kitchen.

"They're a bit depressed that Naruto left without saying anything to them so I made foods they'd each like." Iruka explained as he set the table.

When the triplets entered they automatically took their places, Rin and Ginji took two seats side-by-side, Daisuke sat at one head of the table to Rin's right. Tsunade sat across from Daisuke while Iruka sat to her left across from Ginji.

"Rin has seafood ramen, Ginji has spicy chicken, and Daisuke has plain chicken and sweet red bean paste." Iruka explained. "What would you like, Tsunade-sama?"

"I'll try some of Ginji's chicken."

"It's really spicy." Ginji warned.

"That's fine."

They ate with light conversation, mostly Ginji asking what it was like being Hokage, and afterwards each three-year-old took their turn rinsing their dished and leaving them in the sink.

They all sat down in the living room to watch a bit of TV for about an hour and a half before Iruka announced it was bedtime.

"Will you tuck us in, Tsunade-baa-sama?" Ginji asked as he stumbled off the couch.

"Sure, go change into your pajamas and brush your teeth, I'll be there in a moment." She smiled.

The three hurried down the hall to their bedroom, Rin exited a moment later, pajamas in hand, and disappeared into the bathroom to change.

"They're a handful?"

"When they want to be." Iruka sighed. "They seem much more behaved for Naruto though."

"At least they don't complain about washing their hands for dinner or getting ready for bed."

"You should try giving them baths." The brown haired Chuunin chuckled. The two boys joined their sister in the bathroom. "Rin-chan isn't so bad, but Daisuke hates it when I wash his hair and Ginji just won't sit still, he likes to try and displace as much water from the tub as possible."

"We're ready!" Ginji called before rushing to their bedroom.

Tsunade left Iruka to relax on the couch as she headed down the hall towards the bedroom the kids had disappeared into.

The room was basic; wood floors, a twin sized bed with two wooden nightstands on either side that matched the frame, and a nicely sized dresser in the corner by the window. The sheets looked like the kids had picked the colors. The bottom sheet was purple, there were two pillows, one navy and one red, and Tsunade was sure the comforter was custom-made for them as it was a rainbow of the three colors red, navy, and purple.

Daisuke was situated on the right, closest to the door with the navy pillow under his head. Ginji was on the right with the red pillow under his head, and Rin lay in between them, the two pillows overlapped under her head. The comforter was pulled up already, Ginji and Daisuke lay on their sides, each with an arm crossed over Rin. Tsunade walked forward and tucked them in, pulling the comforter up a little more and tucking one side under Daisuke and one under Ginji.

"Sweet dreams." Tsunade caressed each of their heads. Rin smiled sweetly and contently as her hair was stroked. Ginji grumbled something about being treated like a kid before cuddling closer to his sister. Daisuke seemed to allow it with a pout before he too cuddled closer to his sister.

Tsunade turned off the lights and closed the door quietly behind her. "I'll wash the dishes." She announced as she headed towards the kitchen.

"Y-You don't have to do that, Tsunade-sama." Iruka protested weakly, standing from the couch.

"It's the least I could do, besides, I'm sure you have academy work to go over before you retire as well."

Iruka didn't argue with her again, he showed her where everything went before heading to his study to work on the academy students' work. A half hour later the blonde woman knocked lightly on his study door and bid him goodnight, telling him if he ever needed a break he could drop the three brats off at her office for a few hours. She explained that she'd let herself out and she was gone.

* * *

_It wasn't until I was almost finished writting this chapter that I realized the triplets are a lot like Kurenai's team: Ginji - Kiba, Rin - Hinata, and Daisuke - Shino (sort of) :::shrugs::: Oh well._

_R&R, Onegai!_

_(for anyone who cares/ doesn't know, sweet red bean paste is called 'anko' but I didn't want to confuse the readers who didn't know this)_


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Sasuke was pissed. They'd finally reached the Akatsuki lair the animals had indicated to Juugo only to find it empty. The four had spilt upon entering to try and find some clue as to where to head next. Suigetsu had taken the lower level of the hideout, while Sasuke and the others searched the higher levels.

Sasuke wandered into one room that looked like a bedroom, two single beds on either side of the room. "Itachi…" There, in the closet to his left hung an old Uchiha shirt. The symbol swung to face him as he took a step towards it. He checked the tag in the collar just to confirm his suspicions; their mother had taken to sewing their names into the tag at young ages, supposedly his father kept getting Itachi's shirts after the wash.

There it was, a bit of the stitching was missing after years of use, and it now said 'Ita ni' but it was there.

"Sasuke!" Karin's voice called. She popped her head in the room just as he released the shirt and turned toward the door. She smiled at him, pushing her glasses up her nose. "Suigetsu found something in the basement." She scowled. "I don't know what it is, he won't say."

Sasuke nodded and followed her down to the lower most level. Juugo stood with Suigetsu beside a heavily locked door, a dead guard pinned to the wall beside it.

The door was made of thick steel and it was locked much like the door holding Juugo had been; there were several locks and even chains crossing over the door.

"Whatever is in here must be important." Suigetsu murmured. "I figure, if we take it with us we could use it as bait to lure Itachi to us." He grinned viciously at the dead guard. "He didn't know where the other members went but he said they'd be back for whatever's behind this door."

"That's actually a good plan." Karin grumbled unhappily.

Sasuke nodded in agreement. "Let's get the door open then."

Juugo and Suigetsu did so, ripping down the chains and pounding on the locks until they broke. Juugo easily swung the heavy door open to reveal a very dark room. Suigetsu ventured inside, eyes zeroing in on a lump in one corner of the room. "I think it's a girl!" He called back to his companions in the hall. He couldn't see many details within the darkness but he knew the figure was slender and its arms were chained to the wall above its head. He broke the chains and lifted the figure bridal style.

Once in the hall he noticed the flat chest and the lithe muscles over the body. "Hm, guess it's a guy. He's kinda light."

"He's cute." Karin chirped, peering at his face. She used one of her fingers to trace over the whisker marks on his cheeks. "I wonder what color his eyes are…?"

"Blue."

All three companions jerked at the sound of Sasuke's voice.

"You know this guy?" Suigetsu asked as he shifted the unconscious blonde's weight.

"He's from Konoha, his name is Uzumaki Naruto."

"Like the bridge in Wave? Is he named after it?"

Sasuke studied Naruto's relaxed face almost critically for a moment. "Actually it's named after him. Let's go."

* * *

Naruto twitched and groaned awake but didn't open his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that his arms were no longer suspended above his head, and it felt like he was wrapped in a sleeping bag. He made the mistake of opening his eyes. "God!" He screamed hoarsely and covered his eyes, nearly digging the palms of his hands into the sockets. He rolled onto his side and groaned. After so long adjusting his eyes to the darkness it stung painfully to see the natural light.

"That had to hurt." A snarky male voice chuckled. He didn't recognize it as any of the Akatsuki voices he'd come to know.

"Where have you assholes taken me now?" He rasped. "How many damn hideouts do you have? Do you even know the meaning of the word 'paranoid'?"

"He's got a mouth on him, I like him." The same voice chuckled again.

"Drink this." A female voice demanded lightly. A water canteen bumped his hand.

Not caring if it was possibly poisoned he reached out and swallowed a few large gulps of water. Naruto slowly eased his eyes open, sat up, and glanced around. It was a small campsite surrounded by trees and he could see three other people.

There was a girl with shaggy red hair and black rimmed glasses sitting beside him. A few feet away near the fire-pit was a pale male with white hair, grinning pointed teeth at him. The last was a very tall male with reddish-brown hair that seemed to be talking to a bird.

"What the hell?" Naruto murmured, his voice clearer now.

Feet scuffed in the dirt about a foot from his feet announcing another person. "Dobe."

Naruto glanced up, bewildered at the pale man standing over him. "Teme."

The other three looked at the blond startled, the boy was daring.

The two boys stared at each other evenly until Naruto finally glanced down at own his legs with a scowl. "It hasn't worn off."

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke muttered as he stepped forward and crouched beside his ex-teammate.

"They gave me a shot in each leg to basically paralyze them so I couldn't run away or kick them. I was hoping it had worn off so I could get up and kick your ass." He ripped open the sleeping bag to reveal his legs, his only covering now being his boxers, and rubbed them absently. "I can't feel anything from about mid-thigh down."

He couldn't feel it but he could certainly _see_ the pale hand that reached out and touched his leg just below the knee. It didn't really bother him until that hand slowly inched up his leg; a shiver went up his spine and he flushed slightly.

He reacted without thinking and slapped the hand just as cold fingers touched a part of his tan skin that could feel it. The hand snapped back and Sasuke glared at him.

"What do you think you're doing, TEME?" Naruto growled angrily, pulling the sleeping bag back over his legs.

"Don't be such a girl, usuratonkachi."

"I'm not being a girl, you ass!" He retorted incredulously. "Jeez, I knew Kakashi-sensei's perverted-ness would eventually rub off on one of us but I honestly never thought it would be you, Sasuke." He tucked the sleeping bag in around himself carefully. "I certainly didn't want it to be me but I thought with the combination of Kakashi-sensei and Jiraiya-Ero-Sennin it might be inevitable, plus there's Ebisu the closet pervert…" He puckered his lips in thought for a moment. "Sakura-chan used to think I was a pervert but I'm really not."

"Sexy No Jutsu." Sasuke murmured blandly.

"That's not perverted!" Naruto argued. "Sexy No Jutsu is a legitimate distraction technique. I beat Sandaime with it."

"Hn. Congratulations on giving an old man a nosebleed, dobe." He sighed and shifted to sit beside the blonde.

"I meant to say this last time but I never got a chance; nice giant purple ass-bow, teme. Keeping it wrapped for someone?" He grinned cheekily.

Sasuke sent him a death-glare and the other camp inhabitants shivered, except Naruto who only smiled at him.

"You know the patented Uchiha Death-glare doesn't work on me, Sasuke."

"How about I shove a snake down your throat?" Sasuke hissed back.

"Only if you want frogs in your underwear."

Sasuke watched as Karin stood and moved away from them. "I'm not wearing any." He murmured quietly to the blond.

Naruto wrinkled his nose. "I really didn't need to know you go commando, Sasuke." He paused before chuckling lightly. "I hope you didn't do that when we were Genin, those white shorts of yours were really baggy."

"Hn."

The two were quiet a moment. They both glanced over at the sound of yelling to see Karin and Suigetsu fighting, Juugo was still talking to his animal friends.

"Hey, Sasuke," Naruto murmured quietly.

"Hn?"

"You kidnapped me from my kidnappers." He stated. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me, dobe." Sasuke shook his head. "I'm using you as bait to lure Itachi to me."

"My 'thank you' still stands." Naruto shifted to lie back and closed his eyes. "Now if you'll excuse me, there's a difference between passing out and getting sleep."

"Hn, you don't want to eat something?"

"Later." The blond yawn tiredly.

* * *

Naruto woke the next morning to a lurch in his stomach. "No…" He hissed to himself before rolling on his side and emptying his stomach.

There was a squeak beside him; he must have startled the red haired girl with his sudden movements.

"Dobe, what did they feed you?" Sasuke's voice murmured behind him.

"I'm not sick."

"So you just emptied your stomach because you felt like it?" The girl's voice asked sarcastically. Her hand reached up and pressed against his forehead. "You're not warm…"

He swatted her hand away angrily. "I'm not sick! I know what it is; it's nothing to worry about."

"Leave him alone Karin. Go get him some water." Sasuke ordered, waving his hand lightly at her in a shooing motion.

She adjusted her glasses before leaving to do just that.

"Can you move your legs yet?"

The blond paused a moment to cough. "No."

"Then I'm going to take you down to the river myself."

"River?"

"You reek."

"Well excuse me, but I've been locked in a room and chained to a wall for I think a week. I haven't exactly been given the chance to bath regularly." Naruto snapped back. "You're not too flowery smelling yourself, teme."

Naruto was sure if Uchihas' rolled their eyes that Sasuke would have done so at that moment.

"I've been training, usuratonkachi."

Naruto was quiet while he waited to make sure his stomach was done being upset. His mind flashed to the triplets and he frowned in worry. He sat up and fiddled with his own fingers. "Sasuke, can I ask you a hypothetical question about your brother?"

He could see Sasuke's eyes narrow out of the corner of his eye. "What?"

"If you had kids right now and Itachi found out about them, what do you think he'd do to them?" He muttered quietly.

"He'd kill them." The dark haired boy answered without hesitation.

Karin held a canteen under Naruto's nose, smiling sweetly at him as he looked up at her. He used the first gulp to swish around in his mouth, spitting it out in the same spot where he'd thrown up. He swallowed the rest of the water and gave the girl a quiet 'thank you' as he finished. He yelped in surprise as Sasuke threw off his sleeping bag and lifted the blond bridal style.

"T-Teme! What are you doing?" His arms automatically looped around the raven's neck and he glared into the other's face.

"I told you, dobe, you reek."

Knowing he couldn't demand the other male let him walk, he let himself be carried.

The river was a ways off from the camp, secluded, so there was plenty of privacy. Sasuke set him on the bank before moving away a bit to undress. While waiting, Naruto slipped off the tattered black t-shirt covering his torso and tossed it aside.

He watched the fish swimming back and forth in the river, captivated momentarily by a particularly colorful fish. It shimmered red, green, and gold just below the surface of the water where the sun bounced off its scales. It wriggled this way and that as if unsure which way to go before it darted downstream to join a school of fish similar in color.

He was pulled back into reality at a hand on his hip. Looking up, Sasuke was kneeling down next to him, slowly leaning over him to place his free hand on his other hip. "W-What are you doing?"

"Boxers."

It figures Sasuke would only give him a one worded answer. Wait. He was taking off his boxers? Why? He yelped and swatted at the pale hands tugging on the waistband of his boxers. "S-Stop! I can go in the water without taking them off." Of course, that's when he noticed exactly how many clothes Sasuke was wearing. None. He blushed brightly; luckily he couldn't see anything…private, per say.

"Usuratonkachi," Sasuke scowled. "It's not like we haven't seen each other naked before."

Naruto could have sworn there was a glint in those onyx eyes after that sentence was said, but he shook it off. "First of all, it's been three years. Second, that's not a good enough reason to see me naked, teme."

"Your argument is weak." Before Naruto could retort or protest his boxers were off and Sasuke had picked him up again.

"Damn it, Teme!" Naruto squawked and covered himself.

Sasuke climbed into the water quickly and settled Naruto on a rock near the small waterfall. "Were you always this body-shy?"

Naruto grumbled, still shielding himself even under the water; it was crystal clear water. "I guess it comes with the territory. Having Sai as a teammate would make any guy nervous."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed without Naruto noticing. He stood under the spray of the waterfall, wetting his hair until it matted itself to his skull, a few stubborn spikes still sticking up in back as he stepped toward the blond again. "Tell me about this replacement of mine."

"Well he's weird." Naruto shrugged. "All he does is smile and he's not exactly an expert on human interactions or emotions. He's obsessed with other people's junk, mostly mine though. I hate it when he says stuff in front of Sakura-chan, it's embarrassing."

"Other people's 'junk'?"

"Penises." Naruto unwillingly blushed at the word.

"Hn. You still like Sakura?"

The blue-eyed male shifted uncomfortably. "As a friend, Sakura-chan's almost like my little sister. Actually my big sister, a little sister wouldn't hit like she does." He unconsciously rubbed his head in the last place she'd hit him. "Anyway, Sai makes me nervous sometimes. I swear he's tried to kiss me on more than one occasion. And he wasn't fazed at all when Konohamaru did that Jutsu..."

"Hm?"

"N-Nothing!" Naruto waved his arms wildly as if that would dispel the conversation. He paid it no mind when Sasuke circled around behind him, assuming he was going to get something, that is until two pale arms slipped under his own tan ones and hugged his chest. "W-What are you doing?"

"Taking you to the waterfall to wet your hair, stop squirming."

The blue-eyed blond flushed deeply as his back pressed against hard muscles. A shiver ran up his spine as he distinctly felt something very specific pressed against his right butt cheek.

Sasuke dipped Naruto's head under the spray of water, gently combing his fingers through the sunshine locks to make sure they were thoroughly soaked, watching them darken slightly.

Once his hair was thoroughly soaked he was pulled back against Sasuke's chest again, but they didn't move away from the waterfall like he expected. They stayed there, pressed against each other with Sasuke's strong arms wrapped around Naruto's middle. Dark hair fell over Naruto's tanned shoulder in clumps as the onyx-eyed male rested his forehead against it; his breath ghosted down Naruto's back as he sighed.

"Sasuke-teme?"

The other was quiet for several long moments. "Do you remember my last night in Konoha?"

Naruto sighed. Should he play dumb? "We trained together, sparred for most of the day and then moved to your house to relax. We had to move to my house due to the noise from the fangirls camped out on your front lawn. You cooked dinner and we watched TV on my couch."

"That's not what I'm talking about, usuratonkachi."

"You mean when we slept together and you left without a word while I was sleeping." He hadn't meant to let it sound so bitter.

"I'd already decided I was leaving, there's a reason I spent my entire last day with you."

"Sasuke, I don't want to talk about this."

"I do." Sasuke's deep voice was stern, leaving no room for argument.

"I'm not in the mood to talk about things like that right now, please." He nearly hissed out the plea as he struggled in the other's grip despite the fact that he knew he couldn't support himself on his own.

"Why not?" Naruto knew without looking that Sasuke was scowling at him, it was childish in a way.

"Just because." Naruto argued again.

"Give me a legitimate reason and we'll stop talking about it."

"Because I just spent the last week of my life being raped by Akatsuki members, excuse me if I don't want to talk about sex!"

There was an awkward silence between the two for several moments. Naruto's chest ached slightly when Sasuke laid a kiss on the back of his shoulder before continuing to wash both of them in silence.

Naruto sat on the bank, drying off and replacing his clothing. Sasuke had provided him with fresh clothes; black boxers, a blue t-shirt, and a pair of grey sweatpants. Sasuke had mumbled something about sending Suigetsu into a nearby town for the pants as he handed them to the blond.

"Naruto?"

"Yea?" Naruto looked up to see Sasuke fully dressed and standing a few feet from him.

"What about Kyuubi?"

The blond absently touched the seal on his stomach. "Yondaime made the seal too strong; they can't break it without killing both of us."

"Hn." Sasuke picked him up carefully and they headed back to camp.

* * *

_Because I know someone is going to point it out, yes, I realize morning sickness would not show up that quickly but well... this is the way I want to work things out so please don't flame me about it._

_...Sasuke is OOC... :::shrugs:::_


	9. Chapter 8

_WOWHO! 108 Reviews! I'm so happy! Here's another chapter, yay for mood swings._

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**Chapter 8**

Naruto was feeling sleepy as they reentered the campsite, but he used what little energy he had to glance around at the other campmates. That's when he saw it; the white haired boy stood leaning against Zabuza's old weapon, he was sure of it.

He pointed accusingly at the other boy, a scowl firmly in place. "You asshole! Have you ever heard of respecting the dead?"

Suigetsu glanced between Naruto and the large blade before grinning. "He's not using it."

Naruto growled and his eyes flashed red a of couple times.

"Dobe, leave it alone."

Naruto angrily smacked the black-haired boy upside the head, earning himself a glare. "Sasuke I can't believe you'd allow him to even carry that around! You remember what Zabuza and Haku went through!"

At that moment Sasuke wished he wasn't an Uchiha just so he could roll his eyes. "Haku almost killed me."

"But he didn't and you don't even have any scars left over."

"Naruto, it's a waste for a weapon like that to rust in the ground."

"Besides, Zabuza-sempai would have wanted me to have it." Suigetsu grinned.

Naruto mumbled something about 'Moby Dick' before wriggling in Sasuke's arms. "Put me down, teme!"

"Naruto your legs still aren't working." The Uchiha stated.

Naruto stilled suddenly and a hand rested over his stomach. "If you don't put me down now, I'm going to throw up all over your face."

"Are you sure you're not sick?" The redhead chirped as Sasuke set him down.

"I don't get sick. Look, it's complicated, the point is that I know what it is and there's nothing to worry about." Naruto hissed at her, cursing his hormones in his head a moment later.

"Everyone gets sick." Karin scolded, hands on her hips.

"Not me."

"There aren't any exceptions to the rule, no matter how healthy your lifestyle, or even if you have germ-a-phobia."

"All right Miss Know-It-All, now tell me how each of the Akatsuki members are going to die." The blond snapped angrily.

"Usuratonkachi, calm down. Karin, Naruto's right, he doesn't get sick."

"I don't need you to defend me, teme!" He grumbled to himself and tried to get comfortable. "I'm taking a nap."

"Not until you eat something first, Naruto." Sasuke demanded.

Juugo held out a plate full of food for Naruto, giving the blond a gentle smile.

Naruto returned the smile and took the plate of food, realizing with the smell just how hungry he was. It was fish and rice, simple and plain, but despite the large portion he knew it wouldn't fill him up.

"Suigetsu is cooking some miso ramen for you too." Sasuke murmured as if reading his thoughts.

Naruto nodded gratefully and wolfed down the meal, then settled down for a nap.

* * *

_Hands skimmed up and down his body slowly, rousing noises of pleasure from his throat. He tossed his head to the side, his right hand gripping a pale shoulder almost painfully. Feather-light touches caressed his neck, first moving up, pausing to nibble lightly on his ear lobe, then moving back down and venturing towards his chest._

_He let out a groan as a cold fingertip traced the sensitive markings around his navel; his left hand clutched dark locks, hearing a hiss when his grip tightened too much._

_Teeth nipped his chest sharply and he whimpered at the small pain. "Sa-"_

"Dobe, wake up." Sasuke shook the other boy lightly.

Naruto groaned angrily at his dream being disturbed, swatting at the unwelcome disturbance.

"Usuratonkachi, you were whimpering in your sleep."

Naruto cracked an eye open and jumped; Sasuke was leaning over him very close. "It wasn't a bad dream, nothing to worry about."

"Hn." Naruto could see the suspicious look in those onyx eyes as they studied him carefully. Sasuke pulled back, his arm lightly sweeping over the blonde's lap as he did so. He arched an eyebrow at the blond, smirking. "I see."

Naruto blushed, scowling at the raven. He tossed a small clump of dirt at the other boy, satisfied when it shattered in Sasuke's hair.

Sasuke grumbled as he shook the dirt from his head.

Naruto heard a small giggle form across the camp, looking up he saw the redhead, Karin as Sasuke had called her, watching them with a smile. The picture was broken when the white haired boy murmured something to her; she turned and screeched at him, swinging a fist at his head.

"Karin, Suigetsu, Stop." Sasuke stated firmly. There was instant silence.

Naruto glanced between Sasuke and the other three, startled at the reaction. He blamed Kyuubi and the hormones when he burst into sudden laughter.

"What's so funny?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto simply shook his head as he continued to laugh. To be honest, he wasn't sure why their obvious fear of Sasuke was so funny to him, it just was. His laughter stopped with an abrupt squeak as Sasuke suddenly picked him up and announced that they were moving on.

* * *

Once they'd settled down again for the night Naruto had been left alone with Karin while Sasuke and the other two ran around getting food, firewood, and checking out a perimeter. Karin had almost immediately settled down beside him and struck up a conversation, naturally the conversation had turned to the only thing they both knew they had in common, Sasuke. "You're going to marry Sasuke?"

Karin nodded, a cute smile on her face, it reminded Naruto of a love-struck Sakura. "After Sasuke kills his brother he wants to rebuild the Uchiha clan. Sasuke will want someone worthy of mothering his children. I'm good-looking, smart, and my skills as a fighter are nothing to be ashamed of. I'm a wonderful candidate."

"How well do you know Sasuke though?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you know his favorite color? His favorite food? What about his least favorite color or food? Do you know the details about his first kiss? Things like that." Naruto shrugged. He'd bet he was the only one who knew such things, Sasuke's stalker fan-girls had nothing on him.

"He's kind of quiet, if you haven't noticed. He's private, and he doesn't exactly give clues to those things. Could you tell me?"

Naruto grinned to himself; oh Sasuke was in for it. "Sure, ask me a question."

Karin brightened, happy at the prospect of learning more about Sasuke. "Well, what's his favorite color, and his least favorite color?"

"His favorite color is blue, but if you want to get specific it would be royal blue. He hates the color green with a passion, I think it may have something to do with these two guys back in Konoha, it was after meeting them that he told me that." Naruto's mind flashed to Gai and Lee hugging each other and crying, he could understand Sasuke's hate.

"What about food?"

"He likes tomatoes and onigiri and he hates sweets. He's kind of a freak when it comes to food…"

"What about his first kiss? I want all the details on that." She smiled excitedly.

Naruto blushed brightly at the memory. "W-Well, actually his first kiss was with me. It was a total accident though! You see, I was jealous at all the attention Sasuke was getting, especially from this girl I had a crush on, and I jumped up on Sasuke's desk. We just glared at each other for a few minutes, and just as I was about to get down the kid sitting in front of Sasuke bumped me and I fell forward, and well…"

Karin blinked dumbly at him before letting out a sharp squeal. "That's so cute!"

"I like your reaction better than Sasuke's fan-girls at the time; they beat me up for stealing his first kiss." Naruto pouted at the memory. "Like I did it on purpose."

"What was it like?"

"What?" Naruto looked at the girl wide-eyed, he wasn't expecting that.

"We're back." Suigetsu announced, dropping an armful of firewood in the center of their campsite. Juugo followed him, a selection of food in his arms.

"Where's Sasuke?" Karin chirped.

Sasuke emerged from the woods a moment later and sat beside Naruto. Karin smiled sweetly at him before she stood to help Juugo prepare the food.

"Hey Sasuke-teme."

"Hn."

Naruto was silent a moment, watching Karin with a smile. "We're even."

"Even? What are you talking about, dobe?"

The blond turned and smiled brightly at the other boy. "You'll see."

Sasuke scowled at him, draping his arms over his knees. "Usuratonkachi, what did you do?"

"You left me alone with the wrong person." Blue eyes sparkled in mirth.

"What did you do, Naruto?" His voice bordered on icy as his eyes glanced briefly at the redhead.

Naruto chuckled. "Hey Sasuke, what do you think your fan-girls would do if I told them the _real_ reason you wore those high-collared shirts all the time?" Naruto lifted his hand and tickled the side of the Uchiha's neck.

Sasuke tensed a moment before swatting at the tanned hand. "I have black-mail material on you too, dobe."

"Nothing that anybody would want though, I don't have loyal, rabid fan-girls," he leaned in to murmur in the other boy's ear. "_Sasuke-sama_."

Naruto snickered as the raven failed to repress a shiver.

"Cut it out. I know your spots too."

"Again, not valuable information, Sasuke, unless you told Sai." Naruto shrugged. He paused a moment, contemplating his next question and whether or not to ask it. "Sasuke-teme, did you read the karma-sutra when we were little?"

"Why?" A finely shaped eyebrow rose in question.

Naruto snorted. "Ero-Sennin made me read it while we were out training for three years, some crap about research, I think he wants me to take up writing 'Icha Icha Paradise' for him after he retires or dies, whichever comes first." He shrugged.

The two were quiet for a couple moments. "Is there a reason you brought it up?"

Naruto blushed and scratched his cheek in embarrassment. "Y-You know quite a few positions from that book."

"I thought you didn't want to talk about that night?"

Naruto gave the other boy a glare that clearly stated 'It's all your fault'. "I've been having dreams; memory-type dreams."

Sasuke smirked. Naruto was sure that if Sasuke wasn't, well Sasuke, and more like Kiba he would have said something stupid like 'I was that good, huh?' He reached over and smacked the raven upside the head for it anyway; his smug look said it all.

* * *

_I ended this chapter here because I hit writers block, but don't worry! I will continue, I refuse to stop here._

_R&R Onegai!_


	10. Chapter 9

_:::peeks around corner, drops chapter and makes a run for it:::_

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**Chapter 9**

Sasuke dodged another swinging fist from the blond. He'd picked up Naruto again and headed a bit into the woods to have a private chat, Naruto was upset about being carried everywhere, but it wasn't Sasuke's fault the idiot couldn't walk.

Naruto glared as he was unceremoniously sat on a fallen tree log. He shifted to make himself more comfortable, wishing he could yell at the raven haired boy about treating him so roughly in his 'condition', but knew he couldn't. "I'm tired and cranky, teme, what do you want?"

He crossed his arms over his chest and took a step back, out of swinging range, Naruto noticed. "I want to talk about my last night in Konoha, and us."

Naruto wished he could knock the boy down and make a run for it; instead he just turned his head away stubbornly.

"Naruto, we have to talk about this eventually, you might as well get it over with."

"What's there to talk about? It happened."

"But why did it happen, dobe?"

Naruto snorted. "You're asking me? You started it!"

"You were there too, usuratonkachi. Don't place all the blame on me." Sasuke glared down at him.

"I'm completely aware of my own involvement; you kind of left a lasting impression, teme." Naruto made sure to place his hand on his lower back instead of his stomach, blushing lightly.

Sasuke's jaw shifted, and Naruto wondered if that was his replacement eye-roll. "Naruto…"

"You tell me what it meant, Sasuke."

Naruto kept his head turned away during the stretching silence, not wanting to see the emotionless mask on the other boy's face. He heard leaves shift and Sasuke's sandals shifting in the dirt, and glanced up to see him standing over him.

A hand settled on his left shoulder and the black haired boy leaned in close enough that Naruto could feel his breath on his face. "Naruto…"

As Sasuke leaned in a little closer Naruto found his lips parting a bit, but whether it was to say something or some other unconscious action he wasn't sure. A passing thought wondered if Sasuke was about to kiss him.

"Sasuke!"

Naruto blinked, and it was as if he'd imagined the older boy leaning so close over him.

They watched together as Karin burst through the foliage, looking upset and a little panicked. "There's a group of chakra signatures headed right for us." Karin panted.

"How many?" Sasuke asked as he shifted forward to pick Naruto up again.

"Six, but they aren't Akatsuki. I don't recognize them." The redhead shook her head, starting to lead the way back toward their camp.

"With Naruto we don't have enough time to pack up and lose them. We'll stay and fight them off if we have to." Sasuke announced as they entered the small clearing where Juugo and Suigetsu waited. "Juugo, Karin, I want you two to protect Naruto."

The two nodded their consent as Sasuke settled the blond back in his sleeping bag. Naruto was indignant about having to be protected, but knew he couldn't do much to protect himself other than throw a few kunai or shuriken. Sasuke zipped him up into the sleeping bag so nothing showed and told him to keep quiet.

Sasuke and Suigetsu tensely watched the trees as the chakra signatures drew closer and closer.

"Sasuke-kun!" Ino practically fell out of the tree tops and pounced on the Uchiha, wrapping her arms around his neck and letting out a tiny squeal. "I can't believe we finally caught up with you!"

Sasuke let it happen for two reasons; he knew Ino wouldn't attack him due to her fan-girl approach, and he was in slight shock over the unexpected visitor. He watched as Kakashi, Sakura, and Shikamaru followed Ino to the ground, as well as Anko from their Chuunin exams and his grinning replacement for team seven. He quirked an eyebrow at the slightly odd combination of people as well as their number; weren't ninja supposed to travel in as small groups as possible?

Sasuke heard Suigetsu chuckling beside him and turned to see the white haired boy looking at Karin, who was gritting her teeth and clenching her fist with the rest of her body stiff and prepared to attack. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes because Uchiha's didn't do that. "Ino, release me."

The blonde girl dropped to her feet from where she'd been dangling off his neck like a piece of jewelry and grinned up at him. "I'm glad you're still in one piece, Sasuke-kun." She told him sincerely.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

At this point Anko approached the duo, and with a large manic grin on her face she slapped Sasuke on the back, or maybe the more appropriate word would be 'pounded'. "I can't thank you enough for finally getting rid of the slimy bastard. I'd show my appreciation but…"

"It would be illegal." Kakashi finished, mumbling into his book.

"I like the new outfit, by the way." Ino winked at him.

This seemed to be the final straw as Karin marched forward and promptly shoved Ino back several paces. Ino stumbled into Shikamaru who caught her easily and helped her right herself.

"Hey!" Sakura marched forward at this point, glaring pretty pale green eyes at the redhead and standing in between the two.

"Karin." Sasuke's voice was low and held a dangerous edge to it. He didn't like how childish she was acting over Ino's teasing, because he knew by the look in the blonde's eyes when she'd said it that she had in fact been teasing him and not flirting, not that Karin had any right to get so angry even if she had been flirting.

"Gah!" Naruto suddenly popped out of his sleeping bag panting heavily. "I can't breathe in there, teme! I can't really hear anything either, how am I supposed to know if you're getting killed or some-"

"Naruto!" Sakura flew past both Sasuke and Juugo and practically collapsed on top of the blond boy, hugging him around the neck. A sniffle alerted Sasuke and the rest of them that she was crying into the blonde's shoulder. "You're OK."

Naruto smiled softly and wrapped his arms around the pink haired girl, pulling her closer until she collapsed into his lap, her arms still wrapped tightly around his neck. He rubbed soothing circles over her back and made a few hushing noises. "I'm fine, Sakura-chan. I wasn't with the Akatsuki long, Sasuke-teme found me after a week and I've been with him since. I'm fine."

"How are you doing, Naruto?" Kakashi asked, slipping his reading material into a weapons pouch and approaching the two slowly as not to incur an attack from one of Sasuke's companions.

"I'm still in one piece, nothing's missing."

Kakashi nodded at the information, glad to hear that not only was the boy OK but the Akatsuki hadn't gotten their hands on the Kyuubi.

"Dobe, tell them about your legs." Sasuke murmured as he approached them as well, Anko and Sai following him.

"What's wrong with your legs?" Sakura quickly sat back and wiped her face clear of the evidence of her crying before putting on her doctor face.

"The Akatsuki gave me this shot in the thighs every day; it numbs my legs so I couldn't try to escape. It hasn't worn off yet."

"Lie back." Sakura ordered even as she pushed him down herself. She threw open the sleeping bag with a quick flick of the wrist and started at his feet. A green glow hovered between her hands and the blond boy's tan skin as she slowly inched her way up his body. She paused as she reached his lower abdomen and her eyes widened, and without moving her head she shot her eyes up at her best male friend.

Naruto gave her a look that was both pleading and demanding.

Sakura forced herself to finish the exam, slowly moving up until she finished with his head. She finally sat back on her heels and bit her lip, cocking her head to one side with a wrinkle in her brow. "Everything seems fine; I'd say you're even still pumping chakra throughout your entire system. We should get you to Tsunade-sama, though; she'd hopefully know more about it."

"No."

Sakura whipped around at the simple word and hard emerald-green eyes focused deftly on the Uchiha towering over her with his arms crossed over his chest. Somewhere behind her Naruto rolled his eyes and sat up on his elbows.

"Um, 'no'?" Ino chirped, leaning forward a bit and blinking widely at the growing situation.

"If he isn't in mortal danger he's not going anywhere."

Sakura slowly rose to her feet and faced off with her old teammate, holding his stare in a way she'd never been able to in the past. "Why not?"

"I'm using him as bait to lure Itachi to me."

Sakura's head dropped to her chest with her teeth clenched, her delicate hands balling into fists so tight her nails broke the skin of her palms. She took one deep breath and slowly let it out. Her head lifted up again and she leveled Sasuke with an exclusive Haruno glare. "You," she breathed out slowly again. "Are the most insensitive jerk I've ever laid eyes on, Uchiha Sasuke." With lightening quick reflexes she reared back and delivered a solid punch to the center of the Uchiha's chest.

Sasuke, either not expecting the punch or at the very least, the power behind it, flew back into the forest; his body slammed through several trees before one finally stopped him and he slid limply to the ground.

Not wasting any time, and seeing as Sasuke's team was distracted running to his rescue, Kakashi pulled Naruto onto his back with the help of Shikamaru and Sai and dove into the woods in the direction of Konoha.

"No stopping kids, we can't risk them catching up with us." Kakashi announced as the others caught up with him.

"Sakura-chan, I can't believe you punched him." Naruto chirped from where he clung to his Genin teacher's neck.

The pink haired kunoichi ran along beside the two, her fists and teeth still clenched. "He deserved it. I can't believe he was using you as bait! He is so…"

"Still the father of my kids, jerk or not." One side of his mouth quirked up in an ironic sort of smile.

Sakura's entire body relaxed as if by magic and she turned sad eyes on her teammate. "I'm sorry Naruto."

Naruto's look turned thoughtful as he watched the forest ahead of them. "You sound like you're apologizing for everything bad that's ever happened to me, Sakura-chan. Don't put that kind of weight on your shoulders; I don't care how strong you are, you'll break under that kind of pressure."

* * *

"Sasuke!" Karin collapsed beside the black haired boy and automatically began checking him over as he grunted in slight pain.

"Should we go after them?" Suigetsu asked, a wide grin still on his face as if he found the entire situation highly amusing.

"No." Sasuke gasped as he tried to sit up.

"No, no! Lay back, Sasuke-kun." Karin waved her hands in front of him as if to warn him off. "That bitch, she broke a handful of your ribs, if you twist around too much one may puncture a lung. Hold still."

The Uchiha finally consented, easing back into the position he'd landed in with barely a wince.

"Should I track them?" Juugo asked as he looked up into the trees at a pair of birds watching them.

"No; they're headed towards Konoha."

"So what do we do?" Suigetsu turned to glance over his shoulder, looking in the direction the group had gone.

"We'll stake out the outer boundaries of Konoha; no doubt Itachi will show up sometime."


	11. Chapter 10

_I have not abandoned this story! My muse is fickle and likes shiny objects (ie: I get distracted easliy). Thanx to those who have stuck around and double thanx for all the reviews!_

_Enjoy!_

**Chapter 10**

Naruto spent his first day and a half back in Konoha confined to a hospital bed; refusing to answer questions, and demanding nutrition, rest, and the ability to walk. As soon as the blond was able to walk a straight line without someone coming to try and catch him at every wobble and totter, he checked himself out despite Shizune's insistence that he stay longer.

A mere hour after his impromptu departure from the hospital, while eating lunch with Iruka and the triplets, Sakura showed up with a summons from Tsunade.

* * *

Tsunade stood in her office leaning back on her desk and staring at the two teens sitting in front of her.

Naruto had just finished telling herself and Sakura what he'd been through the last couple weeks. He'd explained how the Akatsuki hadn't been able to extract the Kyuubi, despite their efforts, due to the strength of the Yondaime's seal. He told them that somehow, they hadn't gone into detail; the Akatsuki had known he could reproduce and decided to use it to their advantage and combine the strongest genes possible, if the Kyuubi's chakra was transferred, it was merely a bonus.

Tsunade looked calm, as if she was taking the information in stride, but her jaw was clenched, her back was stiff, and her hands were clenching and unclenching into fists. Naruto looked unfocused and otherwise blank, already accepting of the events. It was Sakura who was a mess.

The pink haired girl sat beside her teammate, she held one of his hands in hers, their fingers threaded together, and her free hand cupping the back of the hand she held as if she expected him to either disappear or crumble. Tears streamed down her face, and her eyes were pink and a little puffy; she took deep, slow breaths that made her chest shuddered every few moments.

Naruto turned his head and looked at her. There was no smile of any kind on his face; not the usual smile trying to reassure her, or even a fake smile that said he was over the things that had happened and she was being foolish for the emotions she was exhibiting. The look on his face was blank as if he were simply passing his gaze over her, but his look was anything but fleeting as he held her green eyes with his blue. Those captivatingly blue eyes held gratitude, and somewhere deep in their depths trying to hide behind a mask that wasn't fully constructed, was pain.

Sakura choked, pink lips parting. She collapsed against his shoulder a sobbing mess, a hand coming up and clutching the front of his shirt. She continually murmured 'I'm so sorry' over and over again.

Tsunade licked her lips and took a deep breath as Naruto's gaze returned to her. "You're pregnant?"

"Yes."

"And you're already showing signs? That's early, and even faster than last time."

"Maybe I'm quick to get sick just like I'm quick to heal." Naruto shrugged his unburdened shoulder.

"You didn't show symptoms of your first pregnancy until the average two months into it. Why are you showing symptoms only a week in this time?" She crossed her arms with a puzzled look on her face.

"Baa-chan, I honestly don't know. Can I go see my kids?"

"First, do you want an abortion?"

Naruto sagged in his seat, but his eyes hardened an ounce. "You know I don't."

Sakura jerked up, pinked eyes now red, her pretty face slightly unattractive with blotches of flushed skin. "Why? Why do you want to keep it? Why…?"

"It's still a life, Sakura-chan, and it hasn't done anything wrong to deserve death." He answered without looking at her.

She tried to search his face and eyes, her own eyes darting over his face over and over like she was reading a book at break-neck speeds. "Naruto…"

"You do realize that by going through with this pregnancy you are playing right into the Akatsuki's hands, don't you? They'll come after you relentlessly now, both you and your kids will be in danger Naruto; I urge you to get an abortion."

The blond boy was quiet a moment before taking a decisive breath. "We'll keep the pregnancy between the three of us. I know my limitations while pregnant; I'll go back to training and everyday life, and the Akatsuki will believe I got the abortion."

"Then they'll come after you again, or what happens when you start to show?" Tsunade reasoned.

"I have no doubt you've boosted security both since my disappearance and since I've been returned, they'll have trouble getting in now, and we're all also expecting it. And when I start to show, Akatsuki will catch wind of a rumor that I've left on another training trip."

Tsunade furrowed her brow. "The timing will be suspicious."

"And they'll start chasing a ghost. I can even send a bunshin with Ero-Sennin to help fool them."

"Naruto, you…"

Naruto eased his hand away from the pink haired girl and stood up. "I'm going to see my kids now, figure the rest out for yourself." He then turned and left the Hokage's office, passing by Kakashi who was waiting in the hall, reading his book.

"Naruto," Kakashi's monotone voice called as he followed his lone blond student. "You're pregnant."

Naruto's steps barely faltered as he glanced at the Jounin out of the corner of his eye. "Eaves-dropping Kakashi-sensei?"

"No, I believe those doors are sound proof," he paused, cocking his head. "Well, unless Hokage-sama yells."

Naruto chuckled. "Then ninja intuition?"

"Just a teacher knowing his students; are you all right?"

"I'll be fine as soon as I see my kids."

"That's a lie, but I'll let it go. Let me know if you need anything."

Naruto stopped abruptly, and Kakashi came to a smooth stop beside him, his book dangling at his side as he focused his full attention on the genuine smile on the young boy's face. "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi reached up and ruffled Naruto's messy blond hair, earning a child-like pout. "I'll walk you to Iruka's."

Naruto laughed as he hurried ahead of his teacher. "Gee, Kakashi, could you be more obvious?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Kakashi and Iruka-sensei sitting in a tree, G-R-O-P-I-N-G!" Naruto sing-song-ed before breaking into a run away from his teacher.

Kakashi's eye widened before he pushed off the stairs and shot after the laughing teen.

* * *

Iruka smiled as he tucked Naruto in with the triplets. Naruto had fallen asleep while reading them a book; Daisuke was curled against his left side, Ginji on his right, and Rin curled against his chest. The book was still open and face down on Rin's back; Iruka picked up the book, closing it, and placed it on the nightstand before pulling up the tri-colored blanket to cover each of them. He checked to make sure the window was locked before slipping out of the room, leaving it open just a crack. He turned around and jumped, not expecting Kakashi to be standing there as he could have sworn he just bid the man good-night at his front door.

"You worry too much." Kakashi mumbled into his book. He peered at the Chuunin over the tops of the pages for a moment before clapping the book shut and putting it away.

"He was kidnapped just down the hall while I slept, Kakashi." Iruka hissed in a whisper. "Of course I'm worried."

"Naruto's an adult now, Iruka, he's a trained shinobi, and he can take care of himself."

Iruka grabbed a handful of the Jounin's vest and dragged him down the hall and into the living room before turning on him. "He is not an adult! He's a sixteen-year-old boy with adult problems and too many people have way too many expectations of him."

"Including you." Kakashi's lazy-looking eye gazed seriously at the teacher. "You expect Naruto to stay an innocent kid forever."

"I do not-"

"You do. Naruto is a parent and a widely experienced shinobi and you can't get passed the image of a scared adolescent earning his headband at the knowledge of an entire village despising him." He gripped the other man's shoulders gently, forcing focus on himself rather than any distraction. "Iruka, I know just as well as any other adult who's ever met Naruto that he brings out a protective instinct in us, but you have to know when to ignore it and let him do things the way he chooses, even if that means something horrible happening."

"I can't do that. Naruto doesn't deserve all the things he's been through, he's a good kid."

"I know, and all we can do is try to help him whenever he doesn't outright tell us to back off. We can't fix everything, and sometimes when something breaks right in front of you, you have to ignore it in favor of stopping something else from breaking at all. Do you understand?"

Iruka chuckled and pushed forward, leaning his head on the silver haired man's shoulder in his exhaustion.

Kakashi's eye widened in surprise for the second time that day and he held his hands out, not sure what to do with them.

"I'm not one of your students, Kakashi." His arms came up and circled the man's back, hugging him. "But I understand."

Kakashi's eyes softened as the arms wrapped around his back tightened and the Chuunin's entire body shuddered against his; he returned the embrace by carefully making sure his hands stayed by the brown haired man's shoulder blades. "It's hard watching them grow up."

"They grow up so fast."

"Think how Jiraiya and I feel, we're both his god-fathers." Kakashi whispered into the Chuunin's ear.

Iruka laughed and his hands clenched around fistfuls of the man's Jounin vest.

The two quietly enjoyed the comforting embrace for several long quiet moments.

"What are you two doing?"

Iruka gave a startled squeak as he jumped away from the Jounin, looking over to see Naruto standing at the end of the hall. The blond was dressed in pale blue pajama bottoms and an old white t-shirt; his hair was mussed and flattened in some places from his brief bout of sleep, and he was squinting into the bright living room lighting at them.

"Iruka-sensei, I realize this is your house, but can you take those kinds of things somewhere more private? You never know when one of the triplets could get up to use the bathroom or something."

The Chuunin sputtered, his entire face turning red as he waved an accusing arm in Kakashi's general direction as if to place the blame on him. "I-I did not…that wasn't…"

"It was a friendly hug, Naruto; Iruka-sensei and I were comforting each other over your stupidity."

"K-Kakashi!" Iruka looked indignant at the insult in his ex-student's stead.

Naruto merely grinned, looking mischievous. "Friendly hands don't inch their way towards Iruka-sensei's butt."

Kakashi frowned. "I was not."

Iruka, still bright red, dragged a hand down his face with a loud sigh. "Naruto, what are you doing up?"

"Morning sickness isn't limited to morning hours."

Iruka frowned, the parlor of his skin returning to something more normal. "Would you like something to settle your stomach?"

"You told Iruka?" Kakashi cocked his head at the blond, only slightly surprised.

"Yes, please; and yea, of course I told Iruka-sensei." Naruto grumbled, following Iruka into the kitchen and collapsing into a kitchen chair.

Iruka rummaged through the cabinets as Kakashi joined them, sitting beside his student. "How are you taking all this, Naruto?"

The sound of Iruka's rummaging slowed and he began peeking over his shoulder at them every couple of moments.

Naruto unconsciously rubbed his stomach as he slouched in the wooden chair. "How am I taking what, exactly?"

"Well, the pregnancy for one."

"I feel bloated and nauseas." The blond answered blandly, point blank.

Kakashi nearly smacked himself. "I meant emotionally."

Naruto cocked his head and looked thoughtful, scrunching his nose. "I think I'm a little more prepared for this than I was the first time. To be brutally honest, I don't like the idea of carrying an Akatsuki baby, and the fact that it's a possibility that the life inside me might also be the cousin to my current kids is creepy on a few levels." He gave an awkward chuckle as he scratched the back of his head. "But I'll go through with this, even if I am playing right into their hands."

Iruka set a plate of crackers and a glass of amber liquid on the table in front of the blond before reaching up and gently running his fingers through sunflower colored spikes, he frowned worriedly at the boy. "And what about Sasuke?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Way to add the drama, Iruka-sensei."

"Naruto, I'm really worried about you."

"We all are." Kakashi added.

He shrugged. "Nothing's different; we spent a few days together. It was like before he left."

Kakashi noticed the blue eyes watering first. He stood up and hugged the sixteen-year-old boy's head against his chest; the tears started silently, but when they turned into quiet hiccups Iruka knelt on the floor and hugged him as well.


	12. Chapter 11

_I have not abandoned this story! Writer's block is a bitch, plus my muse is fickle and likes shiny objects (ie: I get distracted easliy). Thanx to those who have stuck around and double thanx for all the reviews!_

_P.S. Don't review my story just to bitch at me about how much you hate rape, or mpreg or whatever, it's freaking annoying_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter 11**

Suigetsu had quickly decided that sitting just outside the borders of Konoha waiting for an Akatsuki member to show up was boring; mind-numbingly boring. His only source of entertainment for the last month was bugging Karin, and even that was getting old quickly. He glanced over at their leader who was silently brooding as his eyes scanned the forest over and over.

"Hey, why do you think the Akatsuki kidnapped Naruto in the first place? He didn't seem that special." Karin asked no one as she leaned back on her hands and stared at the sparse blue sky peeking through the tree tops.

Suigetsu was about to insult her stupidity when it dawned on him as well, but couldn't resist the natural impulse to set the redhead off. "Thinkin' about Blondie, huh? Sasuke should be happy you finally gave on him."

A slight tick in one of her finely shaped eyebrows was the only warning before Karin let out an angered screech and swung, splashing the water from Suigetsu's face onto the ground behind him.

He chuckled as his head rematerialized. "Bulls-eye, huh?"

Karin hissed at him, rearing up for another hit when Sasuke sent her a silent glare; a chill went down her spine and she plopped back down on the ground where she'd been sitting. She let out a tired sigh as Sasuke turned back to his look-out. "I mean, yea, he had copious amounts of chakra, it was ridiculous, but what could they want with him?" She ran a hand through her hair and worried her bottom lip a bit. "It doesn't make sense what they could have had planned for him, especially locked up like that; nor why they'd come after him again." She caught her own slip. "Ah, not that I'm saying this is a bad idea, I just can't wrap my head around it."

"Naruto is special." It was the first thing Sasuke had said in two days; his words had been short, clipped, or near nonexistent in the last month.

Karin frowned, that cleared up nothing for her.

Sasuke offered no more information as he glared at the tree line, just daring his brother to try and silently slip past him. He'd been thinking about Naruto near non-stop since the Konoha group had taken him away, and Karin wasn't helping because the answers to all the questions she was asking were exactly what he was thinking about. If the Akatsuki were unable to extract the Kyuubi for whatever their original plan was why bother keeping Naruto? They could have killed him so Konoha couldn't use him to fight. Why the rape? Perhaps it was to break him and manipulate him to work on their side, that way they'd still have the Kyuubi's power on their side. There were so many questions and so many things that didn't make sense. His only chances of getting answers was either Naruto or an Akatsuki member, and he doubted either would be willing to give him a clear answer; Naruto could be quite stubborn.

* * *

Naruto groaned into the toilet bowl. This baby hated him more that the triplets had, lately he'd constantly had his head hanging over a toilet; he couldn't keep anything down. Tsunade had given him a medicine to reduce the morning sickness because it certainly wasn't healthy that he couldn't retain nutrition for the fetus, but it wasn't working, so she was working on making something stronger for him. He hoped that she'd hurry because he was hungry and the acidic taste on the back of his tongue just made him even more nauseous.

Iruka stood in the bathroom door worrying a dishcloth in his hands as he frowned down at the blond.

"Iruka-sensei, I'll be fine."

The older man darted his eyes away as if ashamed before looking at the teen again. "I know you don't want to hear this Naruto, but maybe you should seriously consider an abortion. At this rate you'll both die."

Naruto sighed into the porcelain bowl, watching the water ripple. "Can you send someone to check if baa-chan's finished that new medicine?"

Iruka furrowed his brow at being brushed off, but let it slide because he knew Naruto didn't want to have an abortion and he wasn't up for arguing about it. He stepped forward and reached into the medicine cabinet, pulling out cinnamon flavored mouth wash, and set it down on the floor beside the boy before leaving for the living room.

Sakura, Sai, and Kakashi sat in the living room entertaining the triplets. Well actually Kakashi was asleep on the couch, which was a bad idea. Sakura sat back on the floor with Daisuke in her lap, muffling her giggles as Ginji and Rin played with the sleeping man.

Ginji had a large mischievous grin on his face, rivaling his mother's, as he placed objects on the masked man's face. There was already a foam cut out of large red lips over the man's mouth, circles of gold glitter over his cheeks, and the black-eyed boy was currently working on placing stickers everywhere else, including the man's headband.

Rin had a very concentrated and serious look on her face as she played with the spiky silver hair. There were several clumps of silver hair spiked with pink and purple glitter glue, as well as strategically placed rainbow colored barrettes, and colorful little butterfly clips. She was currently working on making tiny braids out of the longer hair, ending each braid with a plastic flower barrette.

Iruka simply shook his head at the sight, he'd warned the Jounin several times not to fall asleep around the triplets. "Sai, would you mind going to see if Hokage-sama has finished that medicine for Naruto?"

The pale boy gave a curt nod and left.

Kakashi began to stir, and with a cry of delight Ginji jumped off the couch, taking his supplies with him, while Rin finished the last braid and jumped down as well. The three toddlers then disappeared into the kitchen just as the Jounin came fully awake.

Iruka placed his hands on his hips as Sakura finally lost control and started laughing. "I told you not to fall asleep.

Kakashi reached up and pulled one of the stickers from his face. "I see."

Sakura squealed as she jumped to her feet. "I need a camera!"

Kakashi ran his fingers over the foam lips before tugging one corner of them, only to find it glued to his mask. "It's just some stickers." He murmured.

The pink haired girl returned with a flash of light, followed by several more as she clicked away on the camera.

Iruka smiled at the other man in amusement. "No it's not."

"This is great; I have to go show Naruto." Sakura giggled as she flipped through the pictures she'd scooped up off the ground. She dropped the camera on top of the TV and rushed towards the bathroom. "Naruto! You have to see this!"

Iruka picked up the one picture Sakura had missed and passed it to the silver haired man.

Kakashi's one eye widened slightly before he let out a slight chuckle.

"That's glitter _glue_, you know." Iruka pointed out.

"I'll survive." Kakashi shrugged.

There was a knock on the front door before Sai let himself and the Hokage inside without waiting for an answer.

Tsunade took a couple steps towards the bathroom before pausing to stare at Kakashi; she let out a snort, before rudely pointing at the man and letting out a loud laugh. After a moment for the Jounin's expense, she quieted down and continued her trek to the bathroom, chuckling all the way.

Iruka shook his head and made his way in to the kitchen.

The triplets were balanced on a stepstool; Ginji was tottering on the edge while he fought to scrub the gold glitter from his hands, Rin stood between her brothers while Daisuke helped her wash and gently scrub the purple and pink glitter from her peach skin.

"Getting rid of the evidence?" Iruka mused.

Only Ginji turned to look at him, nearly toppling off the stool in the process. "Duh." He chirped before turning back to scrubbing his hands.

Iruka approached them, stepping up beside the blond boy to protect him from falling, and took the scrub brush from his hand. "You're scrubbing too hard, Ginji, look at your hands." He murmured as he held one of the small, bright red hands. "Here, let's use this." He reached towards the back of the sink and grabbed the extra strong dish soap instead of the normal hand soap they had been using. "You too, Daisuke." He poured some over Rin's hands first before Ginji's, then replaced the bottle on the back of the sink. "And let's use this." He took the scrub brush from Daisuke's hands and handed him a sponge instead before taking one for himself. "Use the rough side gently, just like you were with the brush." The Chuunin explained as he started cleaning Ginji's hands.

This is how Tsunade found them, all four leaning over the sink. "I gave Naruto the new medicine; he should be able to hold down some food in about an hour. If not, bring him to the hospital."

Iruka smiled at her from over his shoulder as he continued to help the little blond boy wash his hands. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama, I will."

"Good luck." Tsunade gave a jerked nod and left.

"Iruka, can I use your shower?" Kakashi asked, popping his head in the room. He'd managed to remove the stickers from his face as well as all of the hair things.

Iruka turned slightly pink before nodding his consent.

Two hours later the large group of eight sat around the dinner table, Naruto's dinner light for his empty stomach.

Kakashi still had some glitter in his hair, but was otherwise back to normal. "Feeling better, Naruto?"

"Yea, I want to inhale this food I'm so hungry, but I know I shouldn't." He sipped the plain miso soup and turned to the three toddlers. "So you guys had fun playing with Kakashi-sensei this afternoon?" He grinned.

"I wish he was a heavier sleeper, I wanted to draw on his face." Ginji pouted into his rice bowl.

Naruto laughed. "You shouldn't be drawing on anyone's face Ginji, and no more glue, especially not in people's hair." He looked over at Rin here, smiling in assurance as the quiet girl squatted in her chair. He reached out and ran his fingers through her silky hair, his eyes softening. "It's all right Ri-Ri, neither Kakashi-sensei nor I are angry and he got the glue out without any trouble."

Rin looked up at the silver haired man and Kakashi nodded at her. "Sorry." She murmured quietly before sitting up and continuing to eat.

"They didn't do anything wrong." Daisuke announced. "What kind of shinobi can sleep through something like that anyway? Besides, maybe the glitter left in his hair will start a conversation and he can get a girlfriend so he'll stop staring at Iruka-sensei's butt."

Ginji and Rin giggled into their food. Kakashi was staring wide-eyed at the little black haired boy while Iruka blushed bright red. Naruto blinked at his son before laughing at the two adults' faces, and then Sakura followed suit. Sai simply sat back and smiled at all of them.

* * *

"Should we go after him?" Kisame asked impatiently.

"No, leave him be. Naruto is indeed pregnant, he'll get better care in Konoha then he would with us. When the time comes we will take back our offspring."

"We may not have to wait that long, Pein-sama." Itachi announced. "When Deidra and I retrieved Naruto I noticed four other chakra signatures in the house, three of which were small children."

"Is that so?" The man in the shadows seemed happily interested in this new information. "Go gather what information you can on them and their parentage; see if they're of any use to us."

"Yes sir."


	13. Chapter 12

_**Hey Look! An Update!**_

_**Please excuse any errors, my priority was posting it before I went to bed and didn't have time for any proof reading.**_

* * *

**Chapter 12**

Tsunade stared incredulously down at her favorite blond boy as he lay in the hospital bed, cold gel smeared over the bump of his exposed stomach as she held the remote and he stared at the screen. He'd refused a sonogram until he'd reached three months; halfway through the procedure, without looking at her but at the black and white screen, Naruto had asked for a paternity test.

Naruto finally turned his blue-eyed gaze back to her. "Is something wrong, baa-chan?"

"Naruto, you realize a paternity test won't do you any good, don't you? I don't have samples from the Akatsuki members to test against; I couldn't tell you who the father is."

"Unless it's Itachi. Baa-chan, I need to know if I'm carrying some warped family drama around in my stomach. I'll have a hard enough time explaining the triplets to Sasuke when the time comes, I'd like to know ahead of time if I have say something along the lines of 'oh yea, and the fourth one is your hated brother's evil offspring, do you mind playing daddy to him or her too'." Naruto stared at the small screen. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"A boy." Tsunade answered absently.

"Just one?"

She nodded, before biting her bottom lip in contemplation. "Would you consider an abortion if it is Itachi's?"

Naruto scowled. "Why is everyone so dead-set on me having an abortion?"

"Because this pregnancy is dangerous Naruto, and we're all afraid." Tsunade told him in a gentle tone, trying to keep him calm. She put away the equipment and handed him a towel to clean himself off. "This is an Akatsuki baby, they will come for it, and they will come for you if it doesn't work out in their favor. This is also a rape baby; the trauma of the rape will be hard enough without having the constant reminder literally staring you back in the face."

"I can handle it. Just do the paternity test, please." He muttered slightly crossly as he fixed his clothes and stood.

Tsunade sighed but nodded. "This way, we'll do it now; the results will take a couple days."

* * *

"I don't baby-sit." Kiba glared into the house from the porch at the three toddlers watching TV.

"K-Kiba-kun…" Hinata whispered, poking her index fingers together.

"Live with it." Shino deadpanned.

"We're Chuunins; we shouldn't be taking on these crappy Genin level assignments. Why can't Naruto and his team baby-sit his own kids? He adopted them; he should take on the responsibilities." Kiba pouted more than scowled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Stop complaining, it's only for a couple of hours." Sakura huffed, hands on her hips.

"And why can't any of you do it?" Kiba asked, mimicking her posture.

"Because Naruto is with Tsunade, I'm pulling a shift helping out in the hospital, Iruka-sensei is at the academy, Kakashi-sensei disappeared, and none of us trust Sai alone with them." Sakura stepped up to the brown haired boy and stared him in the eyes, poking him in the chest with narrowed eyes. "It's an official mission and you're getting paid for it so stop complaining and get in that house before I throw you in."

Wincing at the new bruise on his chest Kiba nodded.

The pink haired girl stepped back and glanced at the three-man team. "Any questions before I go?"

"I-I think you've told us everything, Sakura." Hinata smiled softly.

"Twice." Kiba grumbled.

"All right then, I'll get going." She smiled at them, wished them luck, and headed off the porch. Two steps from the front gate she paused and turned back. "Oh, and Shino-kun, Rin doesn't like bugs that fly, anything else is fine." She sent them one last fleeting grin before hurrying off.

Kiba stood in the threshold, staring in warily at the three innocent three-year-olds watching TV.

Hinata stepped into the house first; she sat on the couch with them and sent her male teammates an encouraging smile.

Shino glanced over at Kiba before stepping inside as well, taking up one of the armchairs.

Letting out a slight whine at the back of his throat, Kiba glanced over his shoulder at Akamaru who was happily romping around Iruka's yard. "Lucky mutt." He sulked before stepping inside the house and closing the door behind him.

* * *

Naruto came home to the sound of his kids squealing happily and a large dog barking coming from the back yard, and headed around back; he smiled at the sight. The triplets were soaking wet and running away from Akamaru, who was covered in suds and chasing them with the hose in his mouth. Kiba, equally soaked, was chasing his loyal partner and utterly failing in his goal to get the hose back as every time he got too close the large dog turned his head and nearly drowned the brunet. Shino and Hinata stood in one spot, apparently the designated washing area, and laughed at the others while trying to avoid the sprays of water that would come their way.

"You guys are having fun, I see." Naruto grinned as he came up behind the only stationary members of the party.

"N-Naruto-kun." Hinata blushed and gave the blond a short bow in greeting.

"They're good kids, Naruto." Shino said, greeting him with a nod.

Naruto grinned brilliantly at the compliment. "They're a handful though, ne?"

"You got that right." Kiba huffed as he approached. He squeezed his shirt out on Naruto's sandals, and flicked his wet hair in the blue-eyed boy's face. "Does this mean you can take over now?"

Scrunching his face at the water attack, Naruto wiped the excess water away and scowled at the other teen. Shaking out his feet, he grinned at the Inuzuka. "I do believe you're hired until Iruka-sensei gets home, which is still a few hours away."

Kiba's face dropped. "B-But you're staying, right? I'll tie you to a tree if you say 'no'!" He shouted desperately, grabbing Naruto's arms and shaking him.

Naruto snorted before outright laughing. "Kiba, you idiot, what's wrong with you? You love kids."

"These kids are evil, Naruto." He whispered conspiratorially, clutching Naruto close to him and glancing over his shoulder at the toddlers still running from his dog. He turned back suddenly, clutching the blond so close that they were nose to nose. "I mean seriously, leave it to you to adopt a kid that looks and acts practically exactly like that Uchiha prick; and don't even get me started on your little blond mini-me, it's like baby-sitting you!" He hissed.

Naruto tried to squirm out of the brunet's hold but found his efforts unsuccessful so he just leaned back as far as Kiba would let him. "Kiba…"

"Unless you plan to kiss him, I suggest you let him go, Kiba-kun." Kakashi murmured into his book as he rounded the corner of Iruka's house and entered the back yard.

Kiba paused a moment. "Maybe I'm trying to think of a way to thank him for arriving and taking these evil little minions off our hands."

"Ew, dog-breath, get off me!" Naruto pushed at the other's face and chest, trying to push him off.

Kiba laughed before throwing the blond over his shoulder and running after Akamaru. "Over here, boy!"

Akamaru turned towards them with a spray of water and a happy bark.

"No! Stop!" Naruto shouted laughingly. "Put me down, mutt-face!"

Everyone was too preoccupied watching Naruto and Kiba to notice Daisuke staring up into the trees behind the house. Daisuke had been attracted by movement in the trees, what he thought might be a large bird or animal turned out to be a person dressed in a black cloak with red clouds on it. It was a few moments before the figure noticed his staring and looked down at him, coal colored eyes meeting bright blue that seemed to glow under the shade of the trees.

"Daisuke, come on, we're going inside to clean up." Naruto called as he wrung out his shirt before picking up Rin and placing her on his hip. "Kiba, you better wring out your clothes before you step up on the porch or Iruka-sensei will have your head." He looked up to see Daisuke still staring into the trees. "Daisuke! Get your butt over here now!"

Ginji giggled into his hands. "Daisuke-ahou is in trouble."

"Akatsuki." Daisuke murmured. The cloaked figure nodded at him.

Naruto, only hearing a mumble from the boy, handed Rin to Sakura, who'd only just arrived and glared at him for Rin's wet clothes, and he stepped off the porch, heading for the boy. "Daisuke…"

This time, the black haired boy said it louder. "Akatsuki."

Kakashi and Shino shot off the porch just as Naruto scooped up Daisuke; clutching him close the blond looked up into the trees. Itachi stared down at him, his dark eyes suddenly turning to the Sharingan; they were both still, just staring. The spell was broken when Kakashi and Shino rushed past him with a gush of wind and Kiba grabbed Naruto and hurried him into the house where the girls and Ginji waited.

Hinata and Sakura were up and watching the windows and doorways, while Rin and Ginji sat on the couch; Kiba hurriedly deposited Naruto on the couch before disappearing to help his male teammate and the Jounin.

Naruto clutched Daisuke close, his face buried in the fabric young boy's navy t-shirt.

Seeming to understand Naruto's distress, Daisuke wrapped his small arms around his 'mother's' head. Fumbling, Ginji stood on the couch and trekked over two cushions to join them; he dropped to his knees, clutched Naruto's bicep and leaned his head and the older blonde's shoulder. Rin joined them a moment later, hugging Daisuke's back and the larger tanned arms circling the boy's waist, propping her head on her brother's shoulder.

Kakashi and Shino trooped back into the house a few moments later, just as Iruka opened the front door.

Iruka took one look at his favorite student before darting his eyes over every face in the room. "What happened?" He approached the small family of four, soothingly running his fingers through Naruto's sunflower colored hair and using his other hand to rub the teary-eyed little girl's back.

"There was an Akatsuki member in the back yard." Kakashi answered. "Kiba's gone to let Hokage-sama know, but he got away."

"It was Uncle." Daisuke added.

"Well, he's gone now." The Jounin shrugged.

"How did he get inside the border?" Iruka raged, looking just like the mother-hen everyone claimed he was. "It's bad enough he got in here once with the regular, semi-lax security, but it's been upgraded to ridiculously over-the-top since Naruto's return and you're telling me he still got in!"

Kakashi approached the academy teacher as if he were a wild animal primed for attack. "Iruka, calm down." He said as he gently placed his hands on the younger man's shoulders. "Think about this, it's Itachi, he has the Sharingan, remember?"

Scowling, Iruka nodded and turned back to Naruto. "Come on Naruto, let's clean up the kids and make dinner."

Slowly, Naruto eased his tight grip and untangled all four of them. Without saying a word he took Daisuke and Ginji into the bathroom, neither boy making any complaint, and started drawing a bath. Rin sat on the already damp couch cushions to watch TV until it was her turn.

"I-I'll help you with d-dinner, Iruka-sensei." Hinata announced amongst the tense atmosphere.

"Would you like us to stay, Iruka-sensei?" Shino asked.

Iruka let out a long suffering sigh before giving the bug-master a weak smile. "Thank you, Shino-kun, but we'll be fine."

Nodding, Shino excused himself and left.

"Let Kiba know." Sakura called after him. She joined Rin on the couch, wrinkling her nose at the damp cushion.

"I think I'll go talk to Hokage-sama, but I'll be back for dinner." Kakashi announced, but then paused in the doorway, staring off in the direction of the kitchen.

"Waiting for the 'wife' to come bid you farewell and a safe trip, 'hubby'?" Sakura grinned wickedly at him.

The silver haired Jounin gave his student a blank stare before closing the door behind him.

* * *

"Sakura-chan!"

The pink haired girl set down the chart in her hands and turned towards the shout of her name, smiling as Naruto came to a stop beside her. "What's up, Naruto?"

Naruto grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "Would you do me a favor?"

Sakura cocked her head and then her hip. "That depends, what kind of favor?"

"I'm on my way to see baa-chan. I asked her for a paternity test and she finally has the results, would you come with me?"

Sakura thought for a moment about whether this was something she should encourage Naruto to do on his own, or if it was something he needed a friend for. She watched him, and Naruto's subtle twitching nerves sealed the deal. "OK, Naruto, I'll come." She gave him a bright, encouraging smile. "Lead the way."

The blonde's muscles relaxed noticeably at her response, but his smile remained nervous. "Thanks." He then led the way as she asked.

Sakura sat on the cushioned exam table with Naruto, clutching both of his hands in hers and trying to relax him as they waited for Tsunade to make her appearance. A moment later the door creaked open, almost ominously, and their graciously endowed village leader stepped into the room empty handed, her face giving nothing away.

"Just spit it out for me, baa-chan; let's get it over with."

Tsunade leaned back against the closed door and crossed her arms over her chest, her brow furrowed. "Itachi is not the father."

Naruto let out a small breath that he'd been holding; Sakura squeezed his hands again and smiled happily for him.

"But," Tsunade barked out, drawing their attention back to her as she stepped away from the door. She locked eyes with Naruto and frowned. "Naruto, the father of that baby," she pointed to his stomach but kept his gaze. "Is an Uchiha. It's not Sasuke or Itachi, but it is an Uchiha."

"How is that possible?" Sakura asked, her grip on the blond suddenly going lax in her surprise. "The Uchiha massacre left only Sasuke alive; how is this possible? Is the test right?"

Tsunade slowly shook her head. "I checked the test several times. But if you think about it, it makes sense."

"What part of this makes sense?" Sakura's voice took on a new pitch as she practically scolded the Hokage.

"The part about the Uchiha massacre; no matter how good, Itachi couldn't have killed the entire Uchiha clan by himself, genius or not. A thirteen-year-old genius ANBU could not have killed such a mass amount of highly trained shinobi single-handedly, even with a Sharingan as developed as Itachi's."

"You're suggesting he had help?" Sakura was about to ask more when Naruto suddenly jumped from the table and dashed towards the exam room door, throwing it open. "Naruto!"

"Gaki, where are you going?" Tsunade loosely grabbed his arm, just enough to momentarily halt him.

"I need to tell Sasuke!" He pulled his arm loose and dashed down the hall.

"Wait…!" Tsunade called after him.

"I'll get him, Tsunade-sama." Sakura announced before darting off down the hall after her teammate.

Tsunade opened her mouth to call any able-bodied shinobi in the area to join the chase but the words caught in her throat. She bit her bottom lip and watched her pink haired apprentice's back until she turned a sharp corner and disappeared out of sight. "I trust you, Sakura. I trust that kind of love, because I know exactly how it feels." She blindly clutched at the place where her necklace once hung. Straightening her back, she began the trek back to her office, leaving her worries for the blond boy to the pink haired girl.

* * *

_**R&R as per usual. **_

_**I'm trying to get better at this updating thing, honestly, so please no angry mobs.**_


	14. Attention!

Please sign this petition to stop the censorship on ff . net; remove spaces

www. change petitions/ fanfiction-net-stop-the-destruction-of-fanfiction-net#

Viva La Imagination!


	15. Chapter 13

_No soul dying. Because of the blackout protest yesterday I found myself lost and my muse in a rare (these days) Naruto-writing mood. As an apology to all those avid readers whom have been waiting patiently, and not-so-patiently, for an update and were disappointed when I posted the petition (which is change . orgy without the y), here is a chapter to make up for it._

_R&R_

* * *

**Chapter 13**

Sakura, a highly trained shinobi and the Godaime Hokage's apprentice, found herself running out of breath as she chased her blond teammate. Naruto had weaved erratically through the village before sweeping through the southern gate, startling the guards on duty; Sakura had slowed down her chase only long enough to shout a quick apology to them.

"Naruto!" She shouted. Frustrated, she pushed herself to close in on him a bit more before pumping chakra into her fist and punching the ground. The forest floor crumbled and caved beneath their feet; Sakura took satisfaction in watching the slightly younger boy lose his footing and catch an ankle amongst the rubble. Scrambling over the uneven ground, she reached him just as he slipped his leg free and smacked him over the head, scowling at him.

He looked up at her with wide, slightly innocent eyes.

"You can't run off like that, idiot, or have you forgotten about Itachi getting into the village a week ago?"

"Sakura-chan, I have to tell Sasuke." He muttered as if it were a mantra he were repeating aloud, rubbing his sore head where the pink haired girl had smacked him.

She frowned and swiped a hand over her forehead, smudging dirt there in the process. "I thought you were going to wait until he came back to Konoha willingly?"

"Not that!" Naruto yelped with slightly wide eyes, obviously stunned she'd think that. "I have to tell him about his family."

Sakura hefted a sigh, placing her fists on her hips. She studied her teammate a moment, watching as he looked at the area around them as if expecting Sasuke to appear in one of the trees. She'd been watching the other ever since he returned with the triplets in tow; his eyes lit up whenever Sasuke came up in conversation, but would quickly dim directly after as if he suddenly remembered the other wasn't actually around anymore. It was painful to watch.

She turned her head and watched a squirrel bound across a long tree branch as she made a decision. She furrowed her brow and licked her lips; she refused to look at the blue-eyed boy as she prepared herself and bit her lip. "Forget him." She whispered; on some level she hoped he didn't hear her.

Naruto furrowed his brow, his scowl more of a squinty-eyed pout. "We can't forget Sasuke, Sakura-chan, he's our teammate-"

She rounded on him in a flash. "He quit being our teammate when he left, Naruto! He made that decision himself. _I_ tried to stop him, _you_ tried to stop him, we've tried over and over! Sasuke doesn't want to be our teammate anymore; he doesn't want to be saved, Naruto! This is useless, a waste of our time; Sasuke isn't coming home!"

Naruto's hands gently cupped her face, stopping her angry flailing and forcing her to look into those crystal blue eyes; it wasn't until she focused that she realized his image was blurred by angry tears, she tried to blink away the nonstop tears with little result.

The look on Naruto's face was soft, consoling, a look he never could have truly pulled off a few years ago, certainly not as expertly as he was now. His thumbs gently swept the bottom of her eyes, momentarily clearing the tears, but they continued to fall without her will. "Sakura-chan." His voice came out soft, just above a whisper. His eyes contained an adult-level of wisdom that made Sakura want to cry anew, her innocent blond friend shouldn't be able to pull that look off yet, and it was indirectly Sasuke's fault.

"Naruto, I-"

He softly hushed her. "I know all of that, Sakura-chan. I know it's probably useless to keep this up, and I know I'm hurting you and the others by pursuing this. I know I'm not hiding my pain as well as I should and I know it probably hurts to watch, but I made a promise. I made a promise to you, I made that promise to myself, and I made it to my kids; I _have_ to do this." He swiped away her still running tears again his eyes hardened slightly in seriousness. "Do you want to quit, Sakura-chan? You don't have to keep going for my sake, what do you want?"

Her breath shuddered in her throat as she opened her mouth to answer, her hands came up to clutch his wrists and she licked her lips, blinking rapidly to try and clear the tears she had no control over anymore. "I want you to stop."

He smiled sadly and pressed his forehead against hers, but didn't answer her verbally.

"Please, please Naruto."

He closed his eyes and continued to smile sadly.

She stared at his too close face desperately; the two of them literally nose to nose. Desperate, she cocked her head and surged forward. It was a quick peck, nothing passionate and lasting, but it made blue jewels pop back into sight. This time, she said nothing.

There was an agonizing moment of silence between them before Naruto pulled away; he didn't go far, his hands leaving her face to pull her into a hug, his chin resting on top of pale pink locks. Understanding the silent rejection she sobbed into his chest as she clutched his black t-shirt in tight fists. They stood there clutching each other tightly for nearly an hour.

It was broken suddenly as the pink haired girl pushed away, with a loud sniffle she scrubbed her face and tugged at her clothes; when she felt mildly presentable again she looked up at her companion to see him watching her, face blank. "We should get back before Hokage-sama sends out an army after us."

"In a moment, Sakura-chan." Naruto turned towards the woods on his left. "Juugo, right?"

Sasuke's large, reddish-brown haired team member emerged from behind a thick tree, nodding his head at the blonde's question.

"I have an important message I need you to give to Sasuke-teme."

* * *

Itachi and Kisame stood high in the trees, hidden amongst the foliage as they watched the three part ways.

Kisame eyed his partner for a moment before giving a shark-tooth grin. "Your secret is out, or should we stop the redhead?"

"Naruto-kun would find a way to get the message to Sasuke somehow." Itachi muttered. "Keep an eye on my niece and nephews, Kisame; I'm going to pay my little brother a visit."

The blue-skinned man's grin widened further. "Brotherly bonding?"

"I think it's about time I caught him up with everyone else, don't you?"

Kisame let out a chuckle before darting after the duo as Itachi leisurely turned to follow Juugo at a much less hurried pace.

* * *

Naruto and Sakura approached Iruka's house and were greeted with ear-piercing screams, they rushed to the front door and threw it open in a panic, only to sigh in relief to see the kids running in terror from Lee and Gai.

"What are they doing here?" Naruto asked his teacher as the silver haired man leaned against the wall beside the front door.

"I don't know about Lee but Gai followed me home." Kakashi muttered somewhat irritably into his precious book.

"Home?" Sakura parroted with a mischievous grin.

"So how'd your appointment go, Naruto?"

"Itachi isn't the father."

"Good news."

"But an Uchiha is."

Kakashi finally looked up from his book. "Did…Sasuke pull a magic trick?" He managed to sound half-way serious as he asked this.

"You should know by now, Kakashi-sensei, I have nowhere near that type of luck, we've never even had the pleasure of a brief acquaintance." Naruto huffed.

"Isn't that the sad truth." Kakashi straightened up and ruffled the blonde's hair as he passed on his way to the kitchen.

"Mommy!" Ginji collided with Naruto's right leg; he wrapped his arms around the appendage and forced himself between his look-a-like's legs, hiding his face in the back of Naruto's thigh.

Rin let out a frightened squeak as she hid behind Ginji and Naruto's legs, Daisuke slid in behind her not a moment later.

"Naruto-kun, how wonderful to see you!" Lee chirped boisterously, flinging his arms wide as if to hug the younger boy.

"Lee, why are you frightening my children?" He crossed his arms over his chest and gave the spandex-wearing teen a disapproving look.

Lee looked sheepish, dropping his arms.

"My dear Naruto-kun!" Gai exclaimed, striking a ridiculous pose. "We were trying to teach those youngsters the wonders of their youth! I fear they may not be youthful enough! The blond is fine, very youthful, but the other two must-"

"Shut up!" Iruka appeared in the threshold of the kitchen wearing a plain white apron and wielding a wooden spoon. He stomped over and jabbed the wooden spoon at Gai like a kunai, growling angrily at the older Jounin. "There is absolutely no reason to be screaming at the top of your lungs like that, and especially not in my house. You're frightening the children more than anything else and you're riling them up, they have to be put down for a nap after lunch and they're not going to be able to sleep because of you! Go home." The Chuunin jabbed at him one more time to make his point.

Gai raised his hands in surrender, taking a step back. "Very well, Iruka-san. Kakashi, my rival, let us-"

"No! Kakashi can't play with you today; he's going to help me clean the house today."

"I am?"

Naruto grinned at the lost look on the silver haired man's face before snatching his book out of a loose grip and handing it to Sakura who stashed it in a weapons pouch at her waist; Kakashi didn't protest.

"Then let's go, Lee, we shouldn't disrupt their youthful spring cleaning." Gai managed to say at a reasonable volume. He grabbed Lee's arm and made a quick retreat, sweeping quickly past Naruto and the triplets whom still stood in the doorway.

"The scary people are gone now; go clean up your room." Naruto announced, extracting Ginji's tight grip from his thigh.

"But mom, our room is fine." Ginji protested loudly.

Naruto placed his hands on his hips and raised his eyebrow at the dark-eyed boy. "Oh really? Let's check." He took a step forward to head towards the triplet's room and tiny hands pressed against his abdomen, halting him.

Ginji quickly rounded and started running for their room. "Wait, wait, wait, I was joking! Joking!"

Daisuke and Rin followed with tiny smiles on their faces, amused their brother had tried to pull a fast one and failed miserably.

"Here's the plan," Iruka announced. "After lunch, while the triplets are taking their nap, we're going to clean. I'll take the kitchen, Kakashi will have everything outside, and Naruto I want you to start in the bathroom where the triplets have been wrecking havoc on everything in there. Sakura, will you be staying to help? You don't have to."

"I will, I'll take the garden and Kakashi-sensei can clean the outside of the house and pick up the yard." Sakura agreed.

"That will work, thank you."

Sakura turned toward the front door, "I'll rope Sai in to clean the living room; I'll go get him now."

Naruto walked to the triplet's closed bedroom door and knocked. "I want the clean clothes put away, the dirty clothes in the hamper, the toys put away, and the bed stripped; we're going to wash the sheets while you take your nap."

"OK!" Came Ginji's shout of conformation.

Iruka quickly ushered the blond away from the door and back into the kitchen with him, returning to cooking lunch as he frowned at his favorite student. "Kakashi told me about the results, are you OK?"

Naruto made himself useful by setting the table. "I'm fine, Iruka-sensei. Honestly I'm a little worried about how Sasuke's gonna take it, it might make getting him home even harder."

"Naruto, why not just tell Sasuke everything? Maybe he'll make the harder, but right, choice."

"I consider this Sasuke's dream, like me wanting to be Hokage, I'm not taking that away from him, he'd resent me for it. Besides, my kids will be no one's obligation."

"I find it somewhat disturbing that murder is his dream." Iruka frowned.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."

"Naruto, do you know which Akatsuki member it was?" Kakashi asked from the archway between the kitchen and living room.

"Either the leader they called 'Pein' or the weirdo with the orange mask. The leader had eyes that could have been a level of the Sharingan, and I didn't see the other guy's eyes."

Kakashi didn't say anything more, looking thoughtful.

"We're here!" Sakura called, closing the front door behind her ever smiling teammate.

"Good, let's eat."


End file.
